Your Star
by Fuzzy Makes Me Happy
Summary: I hereby give my will to Uchiha Itachi, agreeing to his commands and the time limit, for my actions. I pledge to be faithful to my master and to listen to him and no one else. SasukeOC First chapters suck, the rest... not that bad.
1. Intro

**Prologue .**

Sasuke liked the rain.

He often went out for a walk when it rained. The rain always suited his mood. Afterwards, when it would stop raining he would always go and sit by the river, enjoying the fresh air and how moist the ground was.

He went for a walk everyday, even if it didn't rain. Just to escape the memories that haunted him whenever he was at home.

_Home._ That word was strange to him. In his mind _home_ was taken away from him the day his brother murdered the entire Uchiha clan. Everybody except Sasuke and himself.

It confused him. Why let him live? Just to torture him? He had given up on finding the answer a long time ago. Now there was no choice but to get stronger so he could find Itachi and avenge his clan.

Along the years he had gotten used to a routine. Wake up, eat, go to school, eat, practice, avoid the fan-girls, eat and then a walk to the river before going to sleep. Today was no different.

Sasuke was on his way back home for it was late when he noticed a figure standing by the gates of the Uchiha residence.

She was wearing a long black coat. So long, he couldn't see her feet. Her pale hand was holding a black umbrella over her head so her waist-length black hair wouldn't get wet while her other hand was in the pocket of her coat. She must have sensed someone coming for she looked at him and he almost gasped.

Yellow eyes stared into his own. He stopped when she moved towards him.

Three meters from him she stopped as well and stared intently at his face, her eyes sweeping over his brow, eyes, nose and lips, all the while never blinking.

Sasuke hadn't felt fear for a long time, but this girl made him shudder in anticipation. She finally looked into his eyes again and blinked.

"You look just like him."

Her soft, soothing voice startled him.

What she said confused him.

And just when he was about to ask about it she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

-

-

**21.Dec – I made some changes on the first chapters. Not much. Just corrected some typos and added a few paragraphs. Hope you'll like :)**

**R&R people! Please! XD I know SasukeOC isn't as popular as SasuNaru, but I need some encouragment so I can end this story and so I can start my SasuNaru story ;D SO IF YOU WANT GAYNESS, REVIEW. Lol. **


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

He looked so much like Itachi that it scared her.

Yuuko sighed as she walked without a destination, umbrella in hand, thinking over her plan. It would all fail if the Uchiha would refuse. For a moment she thought about going to the Hokage.

No, the only one who could truly help her was Uchiha Sasuke. For she needed to know him before he found out just who was controlling her.

-

-

Heading over to the school the Uchiha went to, she thought over about what she would say. She knew that if she gave too much information, it would cause trouble. So excuses had to be made, incase he would start asking too much.

Thankfully everybody had believed that the stolen Konoha hitae-ate, wrapped around her left thigh, was hers. So there had been no trouble sneaking into the village.

It was warm and humid and there was no wind, so she had the coat draped over her arm. She was receiving quite a few stares from the villagers because of her attire. Her black skin-tight pants with buckles and chains and her black skin-tight top with a yellow snake on the back (which no one could see because of her hair) probably made her look a little dangerous, but no one actually questioned her because they noticed the hitae-ate. Being a stranger nonetheless, they were suspicious.

Ignoring the looks, she entered the school and went on searching for the Uchiha.

Finding him finally in one of the classrooms she stood by the door for a while. Seeing the quite obvious fan club standing all around him, drooling, made her smirk in amusement. Twelve years old and already the class heart-throb. Looking at him again, the likeness to Itachi sent shivers down her back. Finally tired of just standing there she walked over to his desk.

Everybody finally noticed her and started whispering. Her eyes most likely made her look even more suspicious. Some of the fan club was looking at her in awe, while the rest in distaste. The boys were quite clearly checking her out. She ignored them and to everybody's shock laid down on the Uchiha's desk, leaning on her elbows while looking at the Uchiha. He looked at her for a while, his face motionless until recognition shone in his eyes. The fan club was going wild, screeching at her to get away from _their_ Sasuke-kun. They both ignored them as their eyes stayed on each other.

"You look just like him." Yuuko finally broke the silence between them. He frowned.

"That's what you said yesterday. Look like who?" Almost immediately the entire class had shut up. Most likely because _Sasuke-kun _had talked.

"Itachi." She whispered it to him boldly, hoping to see a reaction.

The Uchiha's breath hitched and his eyes widened. Knowing he was going to ask questions and not wanting to answer them in front of everybody, she decided to speak before he could ask.

"I'll be at the same place as yesterday, if you want to know more."

For a moment it looked like he was going to speak again, but then he just nodded.

She smiled and rose from the desk…

…and found herself face-to-face with a pink haired girl. She looked angry. Yuuko sighed and tried to move past her, but then a blonde appeared before her. Knowing that every eye was on her she smiled and asked patiently,

"Could you two move, please?"

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

"KEEP AWAY FROM MY SASUKE-KUN!" They both screamed simultaneously.

Yuuko flinched. She had always _hated_ screaming. She closed her eyes and slapped them both at the same time. Not too hard, but just enough to leave a red mark on their cheeks and that they would shut up. All the students gasped, but as usual she ignored them and stepped by the pinky and the blonde and continued her way out of the school.

-

-

The girl just waltzed into his life, and broke his routine.

Sasuke had been shocked when the girl from yesterday had shown up again. When she finally told him, just who he looked like, he thought he would stop breathing.

Itachi…The girl knew of him. And she knew what he looked like. She has met him. She must know where he is.

Sasuke had so many questions to ask. And he kept thinking more of them as he headed for home.

-

-

The girl was leaning on the gate, her arms holding her stomach. It looked like she was in pain. When he reached the gate, she looked at him and smiled.

"I'm Yuuko."

_Well, that's one question answered._

"How do you know Itachi?"

She laughed and straightened. "You're not going to invite me in first?"

She gestured to something behind him with her head and he looked over his shoulder. What he saw made him groan in his head. His fan club was standing about ten meters from them, whispering to themselves and glaring at Yuuko.

"…Fine." He muttered and opened the gate. She went in and waited for him to come as well and close the gate. They entered the house and headed for the living room where she sat herself on the couch, putting the coat next to her.

"I met Itachi a while back." She was still smiling and it bothered him, even though he couldn't help but notice how enchanting she looked, when she smiled.

"What are your connections to him?"

She snickered, "So formal. Tsk. Tsk."

"Answer."

"Oh fine," she pouted. "He is one of my many enemies. He captured me a while back. Tortured me for information, I didn't have. I managed to escape, and here I am." Through all this she was still smiling.

"Why are you here?"

She sighed and stopped smiling. She looked serious now. "I need a place, where I can stay for a few weeks. A friend will come to Konoha soon and she will help me hide myself. But for now I need a shower and a bed. For a few weeks. That's all."

"Why me?"

"Because you know what your brother is capable of, therefore you understand me. And I don't have any money, so I can't rent a room either."

"What's in it for me?"

She smirked and leaned back, throwing her arms over the back of the couch and stared up at him through her long eyelashes. "I don't know, what do you want?" When she saw he was unaffected, she sighed and said, "I can teach you some jutsus. Y'know, help you train. After all I am a chuunin."

"…How old are you?" Sasuke asked dubiously.

"Fifteen. Three years older than you, _Sasuke-kun._"

He frowned in thought. To have her living with him… Even if it was for a few weeks, he hadn't shared this house with anybody for so long. But, maybe she will tell him more of Itachi, when he earns her trust.

"Where are your things?"

She smiled sheepishly, "You see, I don't have any, that's why I need to borrow money, so I could buy some clothes."

"…Fine."

Yuuko's eyes lit up, "Really?" She jumped up and hugged him, "You won't regret this, I promise. So.." she released him and asked, "…where's my room?"

Sasuke was still frozen from the hug; _I'm regretting it already._

_-_

_-_

_**21 Dec. – Okay, so I put some chapters together, so there would be longer chapters for the new readers XD. And I don't have chapter titles anymore. DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO THINK UP A GOOD CHAPTER TITLE? No? Well, now you do: **__**Very **__**hard. LOL. **_

_**R&R, lovely people. You are the most beautiful persons I have ever (not) seen. [Sucking up to you xD**_


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Yuuko was lying on her bed, awake that night.

_Thank God, it worked._

After Sasuke had shown her to her room, he had ordered takeout. To her surprise he had ordered for her as well, without her having to ask first. They had eaten in silence, but just before she made to leave he had asked her, when she would start teaching him.

"I have some people to meet, and I will be busy all day tomorrow, but I promise I'll teach you _after_ tomorrow."

He hadn't seemed quite satisfied with that answer, but didn't argue. She had also asked some money so she could buy some new clothes. He had seemed uncomfortable and dubious, but had given her quite a lot, making her wonder just how rich he was.

She rubbed her stomach thoughtfully. A sudden pain had taken her breath away just before Sasuke had arrived at the gate. It had stung and went a lot deeper than a normal stomachache. If she hadn't known better she would have guessed it was her chakra that was causing the pain. But that was as absurd as it sounded. There had been no problem before, why would there be any now? She thought it would be best to just let it go.

Thinking about all the people she hadn't seen in four years, made her tremble with excitement yet also with fear. How will they react, when they realize she had snuck in? Will they trust her, or even listen to her?

She could only hope.

¤Y¤o¤u¤r¤S¤t¤a¤r

Waking up the next day was confusing, as her fuzzy mind didn't grasp, where exactly she was. At first she panicked, thinking that the escape had been a dream and that she was still at her cell, but looking around the comfortable yet eerie room made her remember.

_Oh, right… Sasuke-kun._

Sighing, she rose from her bed and put on her outfit. Deciding she should spend as little money as she could (who knows, maybe Sasuke-kun won't be so generous next time) she settled on finding two new shirts, a skirt, pants, underwear and a pair of boots. She could live without pajamas, for she is used to sleeping either naked or in her underwear anyway. In case Sasuke-kun chose to barge in at some night, for whatever reason, it would be better if she had at least her underwear on.

Having made up her mind about shopping, she tied her long hair up in a ponytail so it reached her mid-back, and went downstairs to the kitchen. Her yellow eyes met Sasuke's, and as usual she was reminded of another pair of deep black orbs. Swallowing hard she lost her appetite and fled from the house, without saying a word, somehow still feeling Sasuke's eyes on her until she was out of the residence.

Walking silently along the street, she caught even more stares, as now everyone could see the yellow snake on her back. Some kids were even frightened of it. It made her snicker humorlessly for at that age she had already been taught how to handle a snake. So a picture of it was no big deal.

Shopping for new clothes, she got herself a black leather mini-skirt with chains, black cargo pants with a simple black belt, a black turtleneck and a sleeveless black tube top. Happy with her choice of clothing she went to search for some underwear, finding some sexy black bras and panties that didn't cover much. Counting her money, she decided to buy a bikini as well. And it was of course, black. And it of course didn't cover much.

Satisfied for now, she headed for the Hokage tower, dreading the meeting with the old man.

The shinobi that guarded the Hokage's office's door blocked her path.

"Hokage-sama is busy at the moment." One of them told her with a dismissive glance.

"Tell him, that Yuuko wants to see him." She responded, glaring. She hated being dismissed.

The guard looked doubtful for a moment, but then disappeared, reappearing in a few seconds frowning and nodded to the other man.

"You may enter." Smiling wickedly she went in and was greeted by a wave of memories.

"Yuuko… so it is you."

Smiling at the old man and his somewhat warm welcome she went closer and bowed.

"Good to see you again, Sarutobi-sensei." Straightening again, she sat down when Sarutobi gestured towards the chair opposite of him. Sitting down she fidgeted slightly under the thoughtful gaze of the Hokage.

"You shouldn't call me that, Yuuko. I'm not your sensei anymore."

"You'll always be my sensei in my mind, Sarutobi-sensei." That got a smile out of him and she relaxed a little. Why had she been afraid of him at all? She should have known he would understand. Her sensei had always made her feel safe.

"If I may ask, why are you here in Konoha?"

"…I ran away."

He raised an eyebrow, "Again? You think you will be able to hide yourself better this time?"

She nodded, "I hope so. I have a friend who will arrive in a few weeks. She'll help me."

"You're not hiding here, I hope. As much as I care for you, I cannot let you endanger Konoha, Yuuko."

There was that stern voice, which always made her look down in shame when she was younger. Now Yuuko resisted the urge to do so again and said, "No, this time I'll try something I haven't tried before."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"I'm going to hide right under his nose. In Sound."

-

-

"You sent for me, Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi's weary face had traces of happiness in it, yet anyone could see he was troubled. Kakashi hadn't been surprised when he had been called to the Hokage's office, for it happened often. But usually Hokage would give him his mission papers, explain things shortly and wish him good luck. He hadn't expected the silence, the nonexistent papers and the thoughtful expression on the Hokage's face as he stood near the window, looking down over the village.

"I have some news, that might interest you, Kakashi."

That made Kakashi put away his orange book, which he had pretended to read nonchalantly. The Hokage turned away from the window, and seeing that he now had the copy ninja's full attention he sat down behind his desk. Kakashi noted that he seemed like he was choosing the right words.

"I met someone today."

Kakashi didn't say anything although he raised one of his brows in a silent question. This didn't go unnoticed by the Hokage, who sighed.

"I guess I should just say it. Yuuko is here-"

Kakashi's eyes widened,

"-In Konoha."

"Y-Yuuko?" He cursed himself for stuttering. The Hokage nodded and he dropped his eyes to the floor, thinking this over. _Yuuko_… The girl he had found in the woods six years ago. The girl he had taken care of, who had lived with him and who had been sort of like a daughter to him. In two years she had gain the trust and love of the Hokage, the Council and Kakashi. Others weren't told of her existence. That girl, _Yuuko_, was now here again. How should he react? Should he even react at all? This was all too confusing, and just _too much._

"May I leave now, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked, his eyes still glued to the floor.

"…That's not all, I'm afraid."

That made him look up again.

"She has escaped from her father's clutches again and has thought of a plan. A plan that I do not approve of."

Again, he stayed silent, knowing that the Hokage will enlighten him of this plan.

"She intends to hide _under his very nose_."

"Not in Sound?!" He tried to keep the shock from his voice, but as usual dealings with Yuuko made him lose his nerve.

"I'm afraid so. I tried to talk her out of it, but she had refused my help to find her a place outside of the village. Also…She said something about a friend, who would help her hide. It is very possible that she has told this friend everything, and…"

"You are worried that her friend is a spy?"

Actually, Kakashi feared that too, and when the Hokage nodded he knew that their doubts had the same reason behind them.

After all, someone who doesn't know Yuuko as much as Kakashi and the Hokage do, someone who probably knows the truth… why would that someone want to help Orochimaru's daughter?

¤Y¤o¤u¤r¤S¤t¤a¤r¤

"-And although I do like miso ramen the best, I would eat all kinds of ramen, if I just had the money, ramen is my favorite food in the world, and I can't understand how some people don't like ramen at all, I mean it's the best, don't ya think?"

"Uh, sure."

"Yeah, it sure is, most of the time Iruka-sensei, who teaches me at the academy is the one who buys me ramen, so I was so surprised when you offered to pay for me, I'm very grateful you know, you know I hate how much I have to wait to get the instant ramen ready, it's instant so why isn't it-"

Yuuko was _seriously _regretting ever meeting the blonde! She had bumped into him, when she made her way out of the Hokage Tower and he had seemed friendly. She wanted to chat with someone a little bit, maybe get some information about Sasuke, and she had been hungry so she offered to buy him lunch. And boy, did the kid have a bottomless stomach or what? The kid, or Naruto, as Yuuko found out earlier, was eating his seventh bowl of ramen, talking only about ramen, while his mouth was full of ramen, and it seemed like he had no intentions of stopping.

"Listen, Naruto-kun…" she interrupted his speech of ramen, "I don't really have that much money, so if you could… please… stop eating?"

"Oh, sorry!" He grinned sheepishly and finished the bowl with a slurp yelling to the Ichiraku's owner (who wasn't that far away) that they were done.

Yuuko paid for the ramen, all the while crying inside in despair, for her money was almost gone. Which meant she had to ask more from Sasuke that night.

"Thanks for the meal, Yuuko-chan, I gotta go training. Bye!"

She sighed as she watched the hyper kid clad in orange run away, in a hyper way. Frowning at the way the villagers looked at him in disgust and whispered to themselves, she turned away and headed for the Uchiha residence. Yuuko had of course noticed the looks before, and that was one of the main reasons she wanted to spend time with the kid, thinking that maybe he was a bit lonely. She knew what it felt like to be feared.

But Naruto had surprised her by seeming the happiest kid she had ever met.

¤Y¤o¤u¤r¤S¤t¤a¤r¤

The hot shower was exactly what his aching body needed.

He had just finished practicing taijutsu and he had worked himself out quite a bit. He was tired, very tired but refused to admit it, for Uchihas aren't supposed to be tired. They don't show their weaknesses. Not wanting to look weary when that strange girl came back, he had decided to take a shower. The shower indeed relaxed him, but it made him a bit sleepy.

Coming out of the shower stall he grabbed a fluffy white towel and wrapped it around his waist. Exiting the bathroom he made his way into his room, but stopped at the doorway. For there, in _his_ room, on _his _bed, looking through _his _scrolls was the girl.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Yuuko looked up at him with wide eyes. At first he thought that, maybe the girl was shocked or shamed at being discovered, but that thought quickly faded when a strange glint appeared in her eyes. A smile he had never seen before appeared on her lips - a wicked smile.

"You know, for a twelve year old, you sure have a nice body."

Sasuke's eyes widened as he remembered that he was wearing only a towel. When she looked him up and down, with that amused smile still on her face, he looked away and to his horror he blushed. Her laughter ringed in his ears and he gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Get out." He grunted.

"What, no fun time?"

That made him blush even more, and he walked over to her, grabbed her arm and ignoring her shocked yet amused look he dragged her to the door, snatched the scrolls out of her hands, threw her out of his room, and slammed the door closed.

-

-

**R&R and you shall be my favorite person in the world. XD**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The next morning tension was in the air. Yuuko could see that, even though Sasuke seemed stoic and nonchalant, he was still angry with her for last night. Thinking back, Yuuko tried her best to keep her laughter down. Even though she had expected a reaction, she hadn't thought that the Uchiha would actually blush.

_A flustered Uchiha. That's a first._

A snort escaped her and black orbs rose from the food to glare at her. Yuuko burst out laughing, "S-sorry!" Noticing how the Uchiha's annoyed glare turned to his death glare she quickly stopped.

"Why were you in my room?" He asked, while returning to his breakfast.

"No reason. Curious." Yuuko answered as calmly as she could. Another glare at her direction made it clear that answer wasn't good enough. Well, he is just going to have to deal with it. Deciding to change the subject she remembered a certain blonde.

"Do you know someone named Uzumaki Naruto?" She tried to ask casually, hoping that she didn't seem too interested.

"The dead last?"

"Why do you say that?" _Okay, screw casual._

"He always messes up and has the worst grades."

And he can still be nonchalant. Yuuko wished she were an Uchiha. Lying would be so easy then. "So you go to school with him then? I wonder why I didn't notice him before." Actually the only people in class she had noticed were the fan girls and Sasuke. Remembering the pinky and the blonde she cringed. She hadn't meant to hit them, it just kind of happened.

"He's usually late."

"Oh…"

He seems like a loner and the villagers always glare at him like that. Yet…he was so happy. Was it because he met someone that didn't look at him like everyone else did?

Feeling like somebody was staring her down she looked at Sasuke and met his curious gaze (Ha! Uchiha's can be curious after all!).

"So, anyway, do you know why everyone looks at him the way they do?" Asking this made him frown.

"What way?"

"You mean you haven't noticed? And I thought Uchiha's were meant to be perceptive." When that death glare came back she realized that a mocking tone isn't meant to be used around an Uchiha.

"They look at him, well more like glare at him like he's, I don't know, some kind of a monster I guess."

"I don't really care. Why do you?"

"No reason. Curious."

_God, those glares are getting old. Yet they still manage to make me shiver. Note to self, never make him truly angry, who knows what kind of glares he has stored up in his 'box for face expressions'. Probably a very small box, for he doesn't seem to have many._

Yuuko rose and went to the sink to wash her dishes. Finishing quickly she headed for her room, when his ever so cool voice stopped her.

"When are you going to train me?"

She looked at the clock on the wall, thought about it and said, "Come into my room in about … thirty minutes."

-

-

Having finished his food fifteen minutes before the training was supposed to start and feeling bored, he decided to go to her room early. Hands in his pockets he calmly headed upstairs, thinking over their conversation this morning.

_Curious? Next time she goes into my room without asking, I'll kick her out of the house._

And what about the dobe? Why had the girl seemed so interested in him? Not that Sasuke really cared, but it just seemed weird. Had Yuuko met him yesterday? …Probably.

Reaching his destination, he opened the door and entered. And stopped mid-step.

There stood Yuuko. In front of a full-length mirror. In her underwear.

_Black…lace…underwear_

She looked into the mirror, spotted him right away and turned. As soon as she saw him standing there – blushing, she snickered. Wide-eyed she held her hand over her mouth, trying (but failing) to keep her laughter down. Sasuke scowled darkly and left the room, slamming the door behind him. While he was walking away he could hear clearly her hysteric laughter, followed by a thump, which most likely meant that she had fallen onto the floor.

Trying to calm himself and to get rid of that damn blush on his cheeks, he walked back downstairs.

Sasuke sighed mentally, That girl is too troublesome.

-

-

"I can't believe this is happening!"

"I know! How can he let that stuck up bitch live with him."

"Yeah, can't he see that we're soo much better than her."

"She's like such a freak with those yellow eyes."

"They're like fake anyway. Contacts."

"Yeah, I still can't understand how could Sasuke-kun do this to us!"

Having heard enough from the rabid fan girls that were currently shopping while having a gossip spree, Kakashi calmly closed his book and headed for the Uchiha residence. A mischievous glint appeared in his uncovered eye.

Yuuko…You should know by now, that you can't hide from me.

-

-

"So… you done blushing now?" Yuuko came downstairs, a big grin on her face.

"Hn."

_What the hell kind of an answer is that?_ Deciding not to voice her opinions on his vocabulary, she got straight to the point.

"So, where do you want to train?" He just shrugged and she 'sweatdropped'.

_Note to self. Never undress in front of Sasuke. Or he'll revert to the silence treatment. And dear god, the boy is silent enough as it is!_

"Okay then… how about here?" Only getting a nod out of him she sighed.

"Fine, I have a ninjutsu, I'm quite sure you will like, it's –" She growled as the doorbell interrupted her.

_Just when I was about to get into my teacher's mode._

Sasuke went (coolly, like always) to answer the door.

"Are you Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Yeah?" Yuuko raised an eyebrow in amusement. She was pretty sure he was glaring at the visitor right now.

"My name's Hatake Kakashi. May I come in?"

Yuuko froze. Oh shit.

-

-

"And why do you want to come in?"

Glaring at the man he stood his ground, not letting him. He was a stranger and Sasuke had no reason to let him into his home.

"I understand, this may seem a bit weird. But I was wondering if I could speak to Yuuko?"

He stood there for a second, thinking it over. And although he hated being interrupted, the man was obviously at least a chuunin, so Sasuke had to show a little respect. But only a little.

"Whatever." Sasuke went back to the living room, hearing the older man close the door behind him and follow him. When they reached the living room, they both stopped quite suddenly and stared at the person who was currently trying to climb out of the window. Seeing that she had been discovered she laughed nervously.

"Not trying to run, now are we?" The man next to him spoke.

She flinched and smiled, but it seemed more like a grimace, "Of course not! Just, getting some fresh air."

At the blank look she received from both of them, she scowled. "Well, can you blame me? As far as I remember seeing you after only a day was bad enough, I can't imagine how it would be now, after four years."

Sasuke watched on with a frown as a maniacal glint appeared in the man's eyes. He started to approach the girl and her eyes widened. He thought for a moment that he should maybe step in, but then he remembered her hysteric amusement over his embarrassment.

_I think I'll let her handle this herself._

Yuuko seemed desperate as she once again tried to climb out of the window, but didn't. He frowned, this was the first floor and it was a big window, it would be easy to just jump. But then as she started to franticly tug at her leg he noticed that the material of her pants had gotten caught in something. Yuuko looked up, saw how close the man was and not caring that she would ruin her pants, jumped out.

Unfortunately, it didn't work as the man caught her by the arm and pulled her easily back in.

And then, he… hugged her.

Sasuke deadpanned as he stared at the girl who was currently screeching for help.

_A hug._

Finally he smirked and decided to watch silently.

-

-

"I think you broke a rib."

They were now comfortably sitting in the living room. Well, Sasuke was – in his armchair, and so was Kakashi – next to her on the couch, but Yuuko kept cringing while she massaged her poor ribs. She hadn't been prepared for the reunion with her former guardian. She had thought she would be clever and go to see him while she was wearing some kind of a protective gear or something like that. But of course when it came to Kakashi, most of her plans seemed to fail for he knew her too well.

"Oh, stop whining. I didn't squeeze that hard."

Yuuko gave him a blank stare, "I. Couldn't. Breathe."

He gave her his eye-smile and just shrugged.

"Gee, what is it with males and shrugging?" She stood up irately and left the room.

"Where are you going?" She answered his shout by coming back in and theatrically shrugging.

On her way out she muttered something about tea.

-

-

Yuuko came back to see the two glaring at each other. Rolling her eyes she served the tea. It took her only one second to notice that Kakashi's eyes had gone from Sasuke's face to her breasts. She could practically see him grinning perversely behind his mask. Finished with the tea she slapped him, "What the hell are you doing?"

He didn't seem fazed by the slap and eye-smiled at her. "You've grown."

Yuuko grimaced, "Isn't it a bit weird to stare at your so called daughter's breasts."

"No, because I know you're not my daughter. But seriously, are those real?"

This time she punched him so hard he was knocked out. Sitting down, she calmly started to sip her tea. Yuuko then looked at Sasuke, who was staring at her weirdly.

"What?"

-

-

When Kakashi regained consciousness, Sasuke and Yuuko had finished their tea already. After some moments of silence he suggested that he and Yuuko went to somewhere more private. She seemed almost relieved to get away from the Uchiha, who had no objections either.

Upstairs in her room he gave her a long stare which made her sigh and say, "Alright, shoot."

"Why did you leave?"

"The Hokage and I both agreed that I was a danger to the village if I stayed."

"Why didn't you say anything to me?"

"It would have been painful. Plus, I figured that Sarutobi-sensei would tell you everything."

Kakashi sighed wearily and sat on her bed. Yuuko remained standing, but he could see that she was stiffening more and more with each question. He almost feared to ask the next one.

"How did Orochimaru capture you?" She looked away and swallowed.

"I…He didn't. I went to him myself." When she looked back and met his shocked gaze, she flinched. "I, I was stupid back then. I mean, I thought that he wouldn't hurt me. After all he's still my father. And I… thought, I mean, hoped that he would treat me the way you did. The way, I always wanted him to treat me."

He sighed and stood. When she saw him approaching, she moved back, tears escaping from her eyes, "Please, don't…"

He ignored her and gently pulled her into his arms. Yuuko trembled in the tender embrace, as she started to cry.

"I-it was horrible. What h-he did to me, I-it was h-horrible." She whispered before breaking down into sobs. Yuuko's knees gave up on her and Kakashi's arms tightened around her as he glared at the wall.

-

-

Sasuke had stayed in the armchair for the whole time. When the two came down he watched silently as she said her good byes and the way they hugged lovingly. They acted like family and it made Sasuke slightly jealous. Jealous of the warm human contact he knew he could never have again.

The man left and she looked at him. Her eyes were red and puffy as if she had been crying. It made him wonder what they talked about. And it also made him realize that maybe she had experienced some pain as well. Knowing that the white-haired man wasn't her real relative made him speculate about her family. Had she lost them too?

"I'm sorry, can we do the training thing tomorrow? I kind of need to be alone right now." Her voice was rough and quiet as if she had been screaming.

Sasuke knew all about wanting to be alone so he nodded and stared at her back as she left the house.

Only when he had reached his room to study on his own, did he realize that he sympathized her. And as a real feeling towards her began to develop in him, she started to seem more of a real person. This made Sasuke doubt his motives on letting her live with him.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Yuuko had honestly thought that she had gotten over her past. The lies, and pain she had to endure while staying with her father had hurt her, yes... but she had exepted it a long time ago, and she had shed her tears over it. But seeing Kakashi again, the one who had given her hope that not all was lost. That maybe her father could act as a true, caring parent. Which didn't happen of course, and she had been foolish to believe that Orochimaru would ever change. But Kakashi had taken care of her, and had shown her how a true father acted. It made her sad that Orochimaru could never love her the way Kakashi did.

Answering his questions had been painful. Accepting his warm hug, full of caring had been hard, but it was the least she could do to show him that she indeed cared for him as well, and that she was grateful to have met him.

The memories had hit her and they made it hard for her to keep her eyes dry.

She left the Uchiha residence feeling guilty for once again not fulfilling her promise to Sasuke. But she was a mess, and just needed to calm down before she would be able to teach anything.

The fresh air calmed her senses and the quiet wind dried her eyes, as she took a walk in the woods. She finally sat down near a tree and tried to relax, to cleanse her mind of the nightmares that were her memories. She sat there for hours in silence until she sensed someone nearing her. Closing her eyes she concentrated in hiding her chakra so the person wouldn't know she was there. But no such luck.

"Never knew, you were a fan of nature."

The familiar voice, that suddenly came just two feet from where she sat made her gasp and open her eyes in shock. She turned her head and met with a pair of midnight blue eyes.

"Ketricken."

-

-

Entering this pitiful village had been easier than she expected. All she had to do was knock a Konoha ninja unconscious, take his hitae-ate and march in through the gates, looking as confident as she could. The security here lacked of discipline and she couldn't see how Yuuko would want to hide here for two weeks. Ketricken was glad, she decided to came early. She searched the other girl's chakra pattern, found it and tracked her down. Seeing Yuuko sitting there, meditating in the middle of the woods wasn't exactly what she was expecting.

"Yeah, I know my own name, thank you very much." Yuuko seemed to be surprised and maybe even slightly disturbed to find her best friend here.

"W-why are you here? I...I mean you shouldn't...YOU'RE EARLY!" Ketricken watched calmly as the girl struggled to find the right words to express her confusion and ... anger?

"Woah, woah," She headed over towards her as she calmly explained, "No need to yell at me, Miss I'm-Too-Powerful-To-Hide-Myself. I came early because I was worried. And I still am, for you dumbass have no idea how weak the security here is, do you? I mean, I practically just waltzed in here and I wasn't even stopped so they could confirm my identity. If you want to hide yourself in Sound, you have to work a little harder for it, got that?"

Ketricken crouched down so they were on the same eye-level and waited.

"Bu-I-You-You have no right to order me around."

She raised an eyebrow and Yuuko blushed. "I mean, I don't have to listen to you."

"You do want me to hide you... don't you?" Ketricken looked at Yuuko straight in the eye and could see some doubt beginning to form there. She sighed and plopped down, sitting indian-style putting her elbow on her thigh and resting her chin in her hand. "For the love of god, what did the old geezer tell you then?"

-

-

"It doesn't matter what Sarutobi-sensei said! I had these doubts from the start!" Even though the Hokage had deepened them... but Yuuko thought it would be better to leave that part out.

"And what exactly do you doubt? My sincerity? Loyalty? Friendship? What?"

Ketricken had always been the calmer of the two. Yuuko knew she was hot-headed and tended to make irrational decisions, and Ketricken calmed her with her coolness. Even now, when she was obviously doubting someone she had called her best friend many times and who had saved her life once, Ketricken didn't seem to be fazed by this at all. Okay, maybe she was a little annoyed.

"Your loyalty I guess. I mean, it's not like I don't trust you, it's just hard for me too see anyone as anything but Orochimaru's spy. I mean, god, can you blame me?"

"You're not pulling out the look-what-I've-been-through-card, are you? 'Cause honestly I'm getting sick of it. I helped you, I am your friend and I have had to stand your bitching and moaning for too long now. You and I both know that I hate Orochimaru just as much as you do, hell, maybe even more and that I have every reason to. So if you don't want my help, fine! It's not exactly like I'm making you except it." Ketricken rose and turned away, "If you'll stop being such an airhead and think for one second, maybe you can see that I really want to help you because I care. So if you're ready to trust me again I'll be in the village until next week. Then I'm leaving for Sound."

Yuuko watched as Ketricken walked away from her, wondering why had she ever doubted this amazing person. Ketricken, who has protected her so many times before. When she was out of sight, Yuuko closed her eyes and clenched her fists.

_I knew it. I knew I could trust her. Sarutobi-sensei, you were wrong. This time I won't fail._

-

-

He hadn't wanted to leave, but it had been obvious that Yuuko wanted to be alone so he did leave. And headed for the training grounds that were beside the river. The perfect place to read his book. Well, he would have headed there but a certain red-head caught his eye. The young woman was sitting at Ichiraku's waiting for her ramen. She had shoulder-length red hair, a slender frame and a pretty face. Well, to be more precise she was stunningly attractive and Kakashi hadn't met a girl like her in a long time. Smirking pervertedly under his mask he headed over there."Mind if I sit here?"

Ketricken turned around to see a white-haired jounin gesturing towards the seat next to her.

"No." Her ramen was placed in front of her and she lost interest in the jounin as she attacked her food. Ketricken hadn't eaten anything for two days now, for the worrying kept her busy.

"Haven't seen you around here? You a transfer?"

She ignored the way the jounin looked her up and down and swallowed before answering, "Might be."

"So where are you from?"

While chewing, Ketricken took her time to think this over. This man was either flirting with her, or suspicious. And she wasn't exactly sure, which she would prefer. The man looked quite old with that hair-color. Plus, if she would perhaps say Sound, which was the truth, then even if he had been flirting he would then certainly be suspicious of her. So a little white lie was necessary.

"Mist."

"Really? So.. what's your name anyway?"

Finishing up her food, she turned to him, held up her hand for him to shake and introduced herself, "Hitsuga Ketricken. And you?"

He shook her hand. "Hatake Kakashi, it is indeed a pleasure to meet you."

Time stopped. "Ha-Ha-HATAKE KAKASHI!?" She couldn't help it. Her best friend's former guardian was flirting with her!

"Yes, so I guess you've heard of me-"

Ketricken didn't let him finish that sentence for she fished some money out of her pockets threw it on the table and ran. No way in hell would she let him flirt with her. He was like fucking thirty. And Ketricken's seventeen. And no, she doesn't go for older men.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Yuuko silently slipped inside the Uchiha house and removed her boots. She went into the kitchen to make some tea for herself. As she waited for the water to boil she tied her hair up in a high ponytail and flexed her arm muscles slightly before unbalancing herself and falling to the floor, hands before her straight into doing push-ups. While she did a small work-out her mind was in turmoil.

_Ketricken's here._ The fact that her best friend was here early conserned her greatly. Ketricken was never early nor late. She was always precise and does everything exactly like she promises. And the elder girl had promised to be here two weeks after Yuuko would arrive so she would have plenty of time to spend with Kakashi and Sarutobi-sensei before she and Ketricken would leave for Sound into what would probably be many years of hiding. Did something happen, something that made Ketricken leave, maybe run away? Or was it true, that in spite of the many things the girl had done to help Yuuko, she was a spy for Orochimaru, and he was sick of waiting?

_No, I trust her. Why did I act like don't?_ Yes, she did trust her. With all her heart she knew that Ketricken would never betray her. Ketricken had been the one to take her in when she was stranded in the middle of nowhere. Ketricken had been the one who helped her get back up on her feet. Ketricken had been the one there for her, when nightmares of the Akatsuki tortured her during the night. Ketricken had trusted her deeply enough to tell her of the pains of her past, tell and show Yuuko the things no one else knew about. Yes, Yuuko trusted Ketricken. And she always will.

She sighed heavily, rose and prepared the tea. Yuuko left it to cool slightly and dropped back on the kitchen floor to continue with her push-ups.

_I have to apologize._ Ketricken probably didn't need an apology, but Yuuko needed to do it. To tell her just how much she meant to her, and just how much she cared.

_I can't lose her._ Without Ketricken she would be a wreck, with no place to go and with no one to be with her during the next long years in hiding.

She smiled slightly as she did the last push-up. Yuuko had made up her mind.

She stood up, took her tea to go upstairs to her room, but noticed the silence in the house. Yuuko went and peeked inside Sasuke's room in-case he was taking a nap, but it was empty. She frowned a little, but decided to ignore the thought that maybe he was in danger. He can take care of himself.

With many thoughts in her head that were blocking her senses, Yuuko headed for her room and opened the door, eyes widening at the sight that welcomed her. The intruders threw a large net at her, making Yuuko blink.

She cursed when she realized she didn't have her kunai with her. Then she could feel another presence behind her and before she could turn around she was hit on the head with something she later thought could have been a vase considering the sound it made when the item broke against the back of her head.

Yuuko's final thought before being swallowed by darkness was a whiny, _You gotta be kidding me._

_-_

_-_

When Sasuke returned from his every day walk (dripping wet for it was raining again), he knew something wasn't right. The tea kettle half-full of warm water and the opened teabag left on the kitchen counter notified him that Yuuko was or had been at his home. The bad feeling didn't leave when he made his way to Yuuko's room, but only greatened when he saw the spilt tea plus the shards of the broken cup and the slightly broken vase on the floor at the doorway.

He frowned in thought and (although he would never admit it) worry. He entered the room and after a bit of looking around his suspicions were confirmed by the broken window, muddy footprints and the blood on the broken vase. Yuuko had been taken. By force. Sasuke's frown deepened. But who had kidnapped her? He froze when he remembered something she had said.

_"-He is one of my many enemies. He captured me a while back. Tortured me for information, I didn't have-"_

Could it be? Was it truly possible? Sasuke's fists clenched in anger. Did Itachi really come back to Konoha? To steal Yuuko?

Then he spotted something. Blood on the window frame. Did the captor drag her out of the window? He growled mentally. So many fucking questions and not one answer. He hurried out of the room, down the stairs, out of the house and to the spot of land under the window of her room. He looked around for any more signs and soon found some more blood. There was an actual trail of blood drops about four meters apart from each other, that led away from the Uchiha compound. Yuuko was losing blood. He needed to find her. And fast.

Sasuke bolted into a run, feeling a desperate need to get to her, and not knowing why.

-

-

Yuuko groaned as she woke.

"What the fuck happened?" She mumbled and tried to reach for the back of her head that hurt like hell, but failed. Her eyes snapped open and she would have welcomed the dim light in the alleyway she was in with eagerness, if not for the fact that her hands were tied tightly together with thick ropes that cut into the skin of her wrists and that she was looking at the faces of her seven captors. She recognized two of them and winced.

"Right, now I remember."

"Who the hell do you think you are, that you can just come out of nowhere and move in with our Sasuke-kun!"

Yuuko sighed as the girl's spit hit her face. "How about we introduce ourselves, I'm Yuuko." She wiped the spit away with her hands and smiled friendly at the four girls that looked a bit taken aback by that statement. The two she recognized actually introduced themselves as well.

"I-I'm Ino."

"And I'm S-Sakura."

"Don't tell her your names, you idiots!" The chubby brunette with too much make-up was doing all the yelling so Yuuko assumed she was this little gang's leader. They all seemed to be a bit dumb and overly obsessed with the Uchiha, which meant getting herself out of this could turn out to be rather easy.

_I just can't believe these twits actually managed to catch me off-guard._

"Just out of curiosity," I adressed the leader and she seemed to turn her nose up as if she had the higher authority here. "Who planned this ever so brilliant scheme to sneak into the house when no one was home, catch me with a net, hit my head so that I lose unconscious and drag me into a deserted alleyway with my hands tied tightly in front of me?"

"It was her brother." The girl she pointed at looked like a rat with her thin face; straight, thin nose; shining black eyes and greasy looking short hair. She obviously looked proud so Yuuko doubted if anyone had caught the sarcasm in her voice when she had said brilliant.

"My brother agreed to meet us here and tie your hands together. He had thought of it, when we asked his advice on how to make sure you wouldn't attack us as soon as you woke up."

Yuuko almost snorted. Almost. These kids were so dumb they didn't take rope as an option to keep her from ruining their (what they thought were pretty) faces. Their brother probably had some kind of an inkling of what they might do to her, 'cause he had left her legs free. Either he was really dumb or really considerate, to leave her some means of escape if things should get out of hand.

"So... what will you do with me, now that you have me?"

She received a kick in the face. Yuuko almost laughed. Almost. That kick wouldn't even leave a bruise.

"We're gonna fuck up that pretty little face of yours so bad that the next time you look into a mirror, you won't even recognize yourself!"

This time a punch was given by one of the other three girls. That... actually hurt.

"Maybe we shouldn't, I mean isn't this a bit drastic?"

"Shut up, Sakura!"

Another kick. Her jaw was really starting to hurt now.

"But what if someone comes?"

"Ino, don't you start too! This was your idea in the first place!"

A slap on her left cheek, and she winced. That's gonna leave a mark.

"I only suggested that we punish her, not that we beat her up! She's bleeding! What if she dies or something?"

"Oh don't be such a sissy, Ino. She's not gonna die! And this is her punishment! Her punishment for daring to live with our Sasuke-kun!"

Another punch. Yuuko spit out the blood that flowed into her mouth from underneath the threatheningly loose tooth. "I'm terribly sorry about that you know. I should have known not to touch your Sasuke-kun. But I will move out in a few days. I'll even leave Konoha!"

The captors looked at each other for a few moments, not knowing what to do before turning their expectant gazes to their leader. Who in fact looked a little uncomfortable.

"Uh, that'll do I guess."

She motioned for Sakura to untie her, and she was about to do so, when someone interrupted by storming into the alley. Loud squealing erupted and he looked so horrified, that Yuuko would have laughed if not considering the situation they were in. Rabid fan-girls plus Sasuke equals Sasuke being goo-goo eyed at. Add a dark alleyway in there somewhere and the result you get - a molested Sasuke.

-

-

He honestly didn't know which was worse. The fact that Yuuko was badly hurt or the fact that he was in a deserted alley with seven of his admirers. One look at the pure glee and eagerness on the members of the gang's faces solved that question. The fan-girls were definetly worse. He took a step back and thought of making a run for it, but was too late for a second later two fan-girls had latched themselves onto his arms and the others surrounded them, touching him everywhere. Everywhere.

Sasuke compared his options. Either get rid of these obnoxious creatures himself or call for help. He tried to reach for his kunai-pack, but both the chubby and the ratty looking girl were holding onto his arm too tightly for him to reach it or to make any seals. He groaned, annoyed. He couldn't see Yuuko either, being completely surroundedby the girls.

He sighed in desperation, "Help!"

-

-

Yuuko had rosen -- wobbly -- and had tried to get rid of the ropes, but they were indeed masterfully tied with knots she couldn't get rid of with just her teeth. She frowned in thought when she saw how completely out of sight Sasuke was. She could only see his legs and two pairs of legs on each side of him. Therefore his arms were being held, he couldn't throw a kunai at Yuuko and he definetly couldn't do much to save himself.

"Help!"

The desperate cry made her grin in amusement before realizing just how serious this was. Sasuke's being molested.

She sighed deeply and made her way towards the bunch, crouched down and kicked the legs from under three girls at once making them fall on their bottoms. They cried out in pain and humiliation while Yuuko kicked their leader in the stomach and Sasuke shoved the other girl off of him. They took off in a run. Luckily the fan-girls weren't nearly fast enought to catch up to them so they made it safely back to the Uchiha residence.

They ran inside and slammed the door behind them, Sasuke leaning on the door while Yuuko supported herself by grabbing the edge of a nearby furniture (that happened to be a cupboard). They panted, slightly out-of-breath. She groaned mentally, for her tooth, jaw, cheek and most of all her head were all hurting so much she wanted to cry. But she held it in. She has dealt with injuries far worse than a few bruises from the local nutties. When they had finally caught their breaths they stood there a few more moments in silence. Silence, that was broken by Sasuke.

-

-

"Never thought they could be so scary."

A few seconds later he realized just what he said and hit himself mentally. _I just admitted I'm scared of a bunch of girls, what the hell?_

He heard snickering and glared at Yuuko who was trying hard not to laugh, but she obviously couldn't hold back a grin.

"This. Never. Happened." He was gritting his teeth so hard it was probably tough to understand them but she nodded and he relaxed... a little. She groaned then and he looked at her again in (although he would never admit it) worry. Now that he could see her injuries in a better light he frowned. Bruised jaw, a very red cheek that was turning purple and some blood had dribbled down her chin. But he was worried about her head. She slightly swayed and he tensed, ready to catch her.

"Can you do me a favor?" Her words were slurred, he noticed. That must be a bad thing. She swayed even more and he took a step towards her, now even more tense.

"Hn."

Yuuko took that as a yes and said, "Catch me," before fainting, Sasuke barely managing to catch her. He took her in his arms and struggled his way upstairs. She was a little bit taller than him and nicely muscled which didn't make her any lighter. He kicked the door to her room open and stumbled his way to her bed. Then he gently placed her on the blankets and turned Yuuko on her side so he could have a look at that wound. He grimaced when he saw the cut. It wasn't life-threathening, but it was pretty bad.

She moaned and shifted a bit, so she was now laying on her back. Sasuke stared at her delicate face. She seemed... relaxed. Something he now realized she never had been before. Yes she laughed and smiled, but never in a manner that would betray any feelings other than amusement. He gently touched her cheek with his fingers.

So soft. He blinked and drew his hand back like he had been burned. _What am I doing?_ He shook his head and she moaned again softly, raising her hands to scratch the place he had touched. Only then did he notice that her hands were tied. He quickly removed the rope and gently rubbed at the red marks, to get the blood flowing a bit better.

Sasuke sighed and went to look for the medical kit, that he knew was somewhere in the bathroom.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

She knocked on the door three times, sighing. At least Yuuko had done one thing right. That's choosing this place to stay in. Ketricken swept her eyes over the big Uchiha house, that looked kind of... old. Well, it had lots of room, which meant she would certainly be able to stay here as well. Nobody opened the door. Irritated, she knocked again, this time instead of three sharp knocks, there were three loud bangs. While waiting, her eyes turned to the whole compound. It looked deserted. Eery. And silent. Deadly silent. This was the place where Uchiha Itachi had murdered everyone except Sasuke. Now, _that_ was very confusing for Ketricken.

_Why him, Yuuko? Why Sasuke?_

The girl could have very easily stayed with Kakashi, or maybe even Sarutobi. Of course, knowing her she didn't want to bother them. And yet Yuuko didn't seem to realize that she was obviously bothering Sasuke. Weird girl.

The door opened and two glaring eyes stared at her.

"Finally! What, did you get lost while coming to answer the door?"

The glare deepened. And the boy still said nothing. Nor did he step aside, so she could enter. Ketricken sighed again, now feeling very annoyed.

"Where's Yuuko? She's here right?"

Now there was a look of surprise on his face before it was masked with indifference.

"And what if she is?"

"Well, I need to see her. Didn't she tell you that somebody would come and help her hide or something?"

He frowned, looking as if trying to remember something, before recognition shone in his eyes. Of course it was soon masked with indifference again. _How can Yuuko live with this kid? _The boy walked away further into the house, leaving the door open. _Guess, I can come in then._

Ketricken entered and politely slipped off her sandals. She then headed to the nearest room, which turned out to be the living room. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. She rolled her eyes. _He better be getting Yuuko._

She went to sit, but stopped when she heard a scream.

-

-

_**No.**_

_**Not the cell.**_

**The air was humid. Yuuko sat there, surrounded by glass walls. She couldn't move much.**

_**Please, no.**_

**She was sobbing. Kabuto came into view. She screamed at him to release her. He only smiled and headed for the machines. Yuuko watched as he pressed the buttons, knowing what was coming next. Gas came from the ground. Poison. She choked, feeling the air around her fill with toxic gas. She lost conscious.**

_**I don't want to see this again.**_

**She awoke to find herself lying on a table, in a room so white it was blinding her, worsening her vision. The gas had made her weak. She couldn't move. She tried to talk, but only a groan came out. Something was stuck deep inside her arm. A needle. They were taking her blood. She felt dizzy.**

**Her father's face hovered above her, smirking cruelly. **

_**"You will do as I ask, when we are finished with you. You will be my greatest achievement."**_

**She opened her mouth in a silent scream as something was injected in her right thigh. Her muscles spasmed. Her whole body cramped. It felt as if her throat had closed itself. No sound came out of her mouth, when she tried to shout them to stop. The pain was excruciating. She couldn't stand it. Her back arched up. Her father's voice called her.**

_**"Yuuko!"**_

**No... It wasn't her father's voice.**

_**"Yuuko, c'mon stop trashing around like an idiot!"**_

_**-**_

_**-**_

Her eyes snapped open and she stared at the red-head, who was kneeling on the bed-her face hovering near Yuuko's. She was breathing in short gasps, and cold sweat was covering all of her skin. Tears were leaking from her eyes, and she let out a soft sob. Ketricken's eyes softened.

"It's okay. You're not there. You escaped long ago, remember?"

Yuuko nodded weakly, and sat up. But found that her strength failed her and would have fallen back on the bed, without the supporting hand on her back. Her eyes found Sasuke's, who was sitting on the other side of the bed. She nodded in thanks and shifted slightly so she could lean on the headboard. Her breathing calmed and she sighed.

"Better now?"

She nodded at Ketricken's question. The older girl stood and motioned for Sasuke to follow her.

"We'll go get you some tea, okay?"

She nodded again, not trusting her voice.

The two left and she finally broke down crying silently.

_I'm supposed to be over it! Why can't I be over it!_

-

-

"Okay, what the hell happened? I saw that injury on the back of her head. What did you do to her, you little brat!"

As soon as they had reached the kitchen, and far away enough from Yuuko's room, so they couldn't be heard, he found himself held by the collar, a really angry girl demanding answers from him. He did, what he would do in any situation like this. He glared.

"Let. Go."

The girl frowned and released him, but still looked menacing, so he decided to satisfy her worry.

"_I_ didn't do anything. My fan-girls ambushed and kidnapped her, dragged her into an alley where they beat her for living with me. She got the head injury from the vase they used to hit her head with, to get her unconscious."

She didn't move for a second. Her left eye twitched and he tensed, wondering if she was going to attack. In some ways, he guessed it _was_ his fault after all. Yet the girl didn't attack. Nor did she shout, scream, glare. No, she... chuckled. And the chuckle turned into hysteric laughter as the girl slumped and held her stomach as she laughed like a hyena.

He frowned, "You're friend's hurt and that's funny?"

She shook her head, managing to calm her laughter, but not removing the grin on her face, "No it's not that. Just the idea of _Yuuko_ getting kidnapped by fan-girls. Like... impossible. I wish I could have seen her expression when she realized just who had caught her off guard." And she started laughing again.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, starting to prepare the tea.

-

-

She wiped her eyes after she stopped crying.

_This is stupid. Crying never helps._

Yuuko got out of the bed and stretched, moaning in pleasure when her tense back relaxed slightly. She put her black pants and tube-top on, before heading downstairs. She stepped down from the stairs and could hear someone madly cackling. She frowned. Stepping into the kitchen, she stopped at the weird sight that greeted her.

Ketricken was now lying on the floor, holding her stomach while laughing like crazy and Sasuke was calmly making the tea.

"What the hell is going on?"

Ketricken immediately stopped laughing, took one look at her... and broke down giggling again. Yuuko frowned, agitated. Sasuke put three cups of tea onto the table and sat before explaining, "I told her what happened yesterday."

Her eyes widened as it hit her. _OH god no._

"Did.. the.. ahahaha... fan-girls... scare... ahaha.. little Yuuko?" Ketricken received a kick in the face.

"What the fuck? THAT HURT!"

"DON'T JOKE ABOUT THINGS LIKE THAT THEN!"

"WHY THE FUCK NOT? IT'S FUNNY!"

Both girls growled before charging at each other. Ketricken's jump had more strength so Yuuko landed on her back with the other girl on top of her. She was trying to catch her breath when Ketricken straddled her waist and started punching her face. She grabbed both wrists and head-butted her. Ketricken swayed a little and Yuuko knocked the girl off of her. They both stood, unbalanced from their heads crashing together and glared at each other. Then Ketricken smirked.

"And how did they manage it anyway? You're like a hellcat when angry."

They relaxed and straightened, "I wasn't exactly angry. More like annoyed as hell. Only you and one other person can make me angry."

Ketricken rolled her eyes, "So, done crying now?" She sat at the table and Yuuko joined her, taking the seat next to her.

"Who said I was crying?"

"Your eyes are red."

"Ah."

They sipped their tea calmly for a while before noticing that Sasuke was staring at them as if they had two heads.

"What?"

"What the fuck?" They asked simultaneously.

He kept staring.

"Oh. This is Ketricken. I'll be leaving with her some time during the next three days or so."

"What about training?" The boy had stopped the maddening staring and turned to Yuuko when he asked his question that even now sounded ... indifferent. Yuuko looked surprised.

"Oh, right. I had completely forgotten about that. Hm."

"Training?" Ketricken was now copying Sasuke with her expressions and movements. If he was annoyed, he didn't let it show.

"Yeah, I promised Sasuke that if he would let me stay here, I would teach him some jutsus."

"I could help."

"Hey, that's not a bad idea. You okay with both of us teaching you, Sasuke?"

He nodded.

"How about today?"

He nodded.

"After we have cleaned up?" Both girls had some blood trailing down their foreheads and Yuuko was surprised her other head wound hadn't opened up again. But she still wanted to make sure before going ahead and doing some _real_ work-out.

He nodded.

Ketricken's right eye twitched. "How about using words, asshole?"

"Now, now Ketricken. Not in front of the child." She received a glare that actually made her shiver slightly in fear. "Damn, you're good, Uchiha." The boy raised a brow in a silent question, but Yuuko didn't bother to explain her reaction to his angry stares. "We'll just go and get ready then. How about we train in the garden, it looked big enough."

He nodded.

"Great. Come on, Ketricken and stop staring at him like you're about to murder him or something. Some people aren't as loudmouthed as you, y'know."

The _"murder-glare"_ turned to her now and she squeaked before hurrying out of the kitchen, Ketricken silently following.

-

-

He sat beneath one of the larger trees in his garden, watching silently as the two girls stretched and prepared themselves for a fight. Yuuko had told him that what he saw in the kitchen before is a common thing that happens every time they want to blow off some steam. She still had some slight bruising on her face from Ketricken's punches and her forehead had a band-aid on it just like the other girl. She told them that her head injury isn't that bad and won't trouble her, but he knew that he wasn't the only one doubting her words.

Ketricken was in the same clothes as before - the maroon, knee-length cargos and the forest-green tank top. Only now her wrists were wrapped with bandages making it clear that she preferred to use the strength in her arms unlike Yuuko, who had her ankles wrapped with supporting bandages and who obviously preferred kicking. Yuuko was wearing the same pants as well, but had changed into the shirt that had the yellow snake on the back. Both girls had their hair tied back, Ketricken's bun messy with strands sticking out and Yuuko's silky hair was up in a perfect ponytail that swiped around with each turn she made.

They had told him to watch first, how they fought using taijutsu and ninjutsu, so he could later tell them which techniques he wanted to learn. Ketricken said that they wouldn't use genjutsu, although he had some trouble believing if the girls could actually do any genjutsu. It didn't matter, so he stopped pondering about it and instead focused on the two ninjas that were now getting into their battle stances, which were also quite different.

Ketricken stood, her legs slightly bent at the knees, her fists held up - one across her chest and the other stretched out before her. She was positioned side-ways her right shoulder directed at Yuuko, who was standing, one leg bent at the knee the other stretched out before her, both her hands were above her head - one bent at the elbow and the other straight - pointing at Ketricken. She was also positioned side-ways her left stretched out leg directed at the red-head. Their bodies were tense and their faces held no emotion.

For a while it seemed as if neither of the two wanted to make the first move, but then Ketricken took two quick steps and then struck her left fist out, Yuuko dodging it by bending her back to her left. She quickly responded by punching the other girl in the ribs. Ketricken swore loudly before cuffing the other girl in the head and then punching her in the stomach. But Yuuko blocked it with her arm and using it as leverage leant down and kicked her right leg out. Ketricken jumped and avoided being swept down. Sasuke recognized that move as the one Yuuko had used on the fan-girls.

The red-head landed on Yuuko's shoulders, making the girl lose her balance and fall on her ass, at the same time losing her grip on her opponent's arm. Ketricken then quickly - before she would lose her balance - jumped into the air, doing a back-flip - her right foot hitting Yuuko's face, before landing and then stepping back, putting some distance between them.

Her yellow eyes glinted in the sunlight when she spit out some blood and grinned at the other girl, "Show off." Ketricken's smug look was swiped off when she started to do hand seals and the red-head quickly moved out of the way when she realized just what jutsu Yuuko was going to do.

"Katon, Housenka no Jutsu!"

Multiple fire balls were blown out of Yuuko's mouth as Ketricken jumped around the garden, swiftly trying to avoid getting hit by one. Sasuke sat there, and watched on with interest and with some suspicion. That technique was a Fire technique. And if he remembered correctly, it was in one of the scrolls that Yuuko had read. Had she mastered it that soon or had she known of it before-hand. He decided to think about it later when Ketricken started to do her own seals, while still dodging the last of the fireballs.

"Kaze no Yaiba!"

A blast of wind was sent towards Yuuko, whose eyes widened in shock before she hurried out of its way. "So now you're trying to kill me?"

"I made it easily blockable so stop whining and get on with it."

Yuuko frowned before charging at Ketricken, while doing another set of seals. "Katon, Karyuu Endan!" Then she exhaled and produced a very wide stream of flames that moved towards Ketricken as a huge wall. The red-head cursed, before crouching.

"Suiton, Suishouha!"

A great wall of water appeared out of nowhere and put out the flames before they reached their target. Ketricken was about to stand, but was stopped when Yuuko jumped through the water and hit her. They both fell to the ground, this time with Yuuko on top and she grabbed the red-head's collar, shaking her. "Are you mad!? What the hell were you thinking, using that here? What if someone saw?"

"Oh, like you didn't use a some-what highly dangerous and suspiciously difficult jutsu on me?"

"You used Wind Blade, I got frustrated!"

"Quite a poor excuse, don't you think?"

They both huffed in frustration before Yuuko stood and stepped back so Ketricken could stand as well.

"This wasn't such a good idea after all."

"Yeah. All of our big fights turn out like this. And these jutsus are supposed to be Hokage level." The girls chuckled before tensing, eyes widening in terror when they turned to Sasuke, who had heard and _seen_ everything. Ketricken pointed her finger at her, "You heard nothing, brat. Got it?"

He shrugged before he stood and moved towards the other two who were watching him warily.

"So, how about Katon, Housenka no Jutsu?"

Yuuko looked a little surprised at first before grinning happily, "Sure! And maybe you can fight one of us later as well. To practice your taijutsu."

He shrugged again and Ketricken growled while Yuuko - who knew that was an affirmative gesture - only smiled and rolled her eyes.

-

-

Yuuko sighed - tired - when she sat down leaning on the tree Sasuke had sat under when he had watched the fight between her and Ketricken. It was quite hard sometimes to forget that these jutsus they knew and that came naturally to them were very difficult to master for everyone else. Hokage-level. She shook her head. She wasn't sure if it was a gift or a curse that the Hokage-level practically didn't exist for them because it was so reachable. Considering the circumstances that made them so natural at this, she guessed it was more of a curse. Most jutsus they know were of so high level that they couldn't use them in front of people if they wanted to avoid being questioned.

"Hey, I'm gonna go and get something to drink. You coming?"

"Naw." She watched as Ketricken jogged back into the house in search for a cold drink. She heard someone sit next to her and turned, unsurprised to see Sasuke staring into nothing with that indifferent look back on his face. The boy had done good. After some rough hours of practicing he had managed to breathe out four fireballs before his breath ran out. She assured him that the more he practiced, the more fireballs he would be able to produce and he looked a little less disappointed. During the taijutsu battles he had lasted twenty minutes against Yuuko and fifteen minutes against Ketricken, before losing quite elegantly on both times. Sasuke's stamina and chakra levels were high, but they were nothing when compared to theirs, but his skills and his improvised movements in taijutsu had impressed both of the girls.

"Hey," She waited before he looked at her from the corner of his eye, "When will you become a genin?"

"Tomorrow."

"Really? You haven't mentioned it before."

"Hn."

She sighed in disappointment. He was back in silent-mode. She often had wondered just why did Sasuke let her stay with him when he didn't trust people easily. And she didn't blame him as well. If her childhood had been fucked up by a member of her family she would be just the same. _Wait._ She almost laughed at herself when she realized that this was just the case. Her childhood had been fucked up by her father no less. So she guessed that this was something they had in common.

"Hey, Sasuke. Why exactly did you agree with me staying here?" For a moment she thought he wouldn't answer, when he started shifting as if standing up, but she was proven wrong when he just lay down - his arms behind his head.

"I thought.. maybe.. you would tell me about Itachi."

She looked down at the hands on her lap before voicing a soft, "Oh."

"Could you? I mean, how do you know him?"

Yuuko breathed in deeply and glanced at the entrance to the house hoping to see Ketricken who would interrupt this conversation she didn't want to have, but there was no one. "I told you already. He captured me and tortured me for information I didn't have."

"What information?"

She looked up at the intensity in his voice and saw that his whole attention was now directed at her and she swallowed nervously.

"It's complicated."

"Try to explain."

"Ah, okay then." She glanced at the house again and she knew it didn't go unnoticed. "My father.. he does experiments. On people. I was one of his.. achievements I guess. I mean, that's what he called me." The nightmare came to mind again, but she shook her head softly, refusing to think about the pain. "Ketricken had the same.. procedures done on her as well. But she had gotten a slight overdose on... well I don't know how to call it.. we call it 'chakra-fluid'... and she managed to escape, I guess. I wouldn't know exactly, cause I met her after my escape. My father.. he planned to make me just as powerful, or maybe even more. But he was doing other things as well. Things that would make me obey him. So I wouldn't end up like Ketricken."

Her voice was shaking slightly and she paused, taking deep breaths to calm her nerves and now kept her eyes on the entrance. "They didn't work though and I still escaped. But I... got caught again. By some organization. Can't remember the name. Soon after I met Itachi, my personal torturer. He had been assigned with getting the information on the procedures and because I was a result of one of them, he thought I knew what they were and how they were done. When I tried to explain that I had been heavily drugged and couldn't possibly remember what my father and.. his assistant did to me it fell on deaf ears. After a while it came clear that I was of no use to them. And so they decided to expose of me. But I managed to escape and after that Ketricken found me wandering in the woods around the organization's compound. She took care of me and helped me to recover."

He was looking at her in a way that sent chills down her spine, the look clearly said that he knew Yuuko was leaving out something. Something very important. But she couldn't tell him. Or she'd lose his trust. And he probably wouldn't believe her anyway.

"Why did you come here?"

She bit her lip, wondering if she should lie but then decided the truth would be best, "Ketricken's hide-out was soon found by my father's... minions and they attacked us. I was in no condition to fight, but she managed to protect the both of us. We escaped. She told me, that she had a trustworthy friend in Grass country and that we would be able to hide there. But I wanted to come here and meet up with a few old friends before going into hiding. I picked you as a 'house-mate' because I knew that if you were anything like Itachi you wouldn't bug me with questions unlike everybody else. Ketricken went to Grass so the place would be ready when she would come and get me. Since she is more powerful than I am, we agreed that we would go to the hide-out together in case those minions found us again."

He finally looked away and Yuuko found she could relax again. That stare really wasn't good for her body, she thought when she rubbed a little at her tense legs.

"So, that's why you can do those jutsus. And you didn't know about the Phoenix Fire technique before you read about it in my scrolls."

"Yeah... I wonder where's Ketricken." She stood and took a look at the perfect picture of the sunset before rolling her eyes at the corny way it made this conversation look _almost_ romantic. _Too bad we talked about torture. And of course too bad he's only twelve._ She smirked at the thought and winked at the now confused boy before heading back into the house, determined to find her red-headed friend.

And find her she did. Ketricken was watching television while slouching in the couch, a glass full of ice and juice in one hand and the remolt-control in the other. Yuuko went and stood in front of the TV.

"Hey, what the fuck!?"

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm _trying_ to watch a movie."

"I was out there being interrogated, hoping you would come and help me and you're here drinking orange juice?"

"Hey, I offered you a way out. But you didn't take it. And afterwards I decided to leave you two to your 'conversation'"

"Wait. You knew he was going to question me?"

"Apparently you didn't see the look he gave you when you were off in _la-la-land._"

"What look? And I'll have you know, I was thinking about our miserable past you nincompoop."

"The look that clearly said that he was suspicious and had his mind set on getting some answers from you. And... nincompoop? Girl, I need to teach you some new insults."

Yuuko rolled her eyes and moved out of the way. She took Ketricken's legs and threw them on the floor, ignoring the girl's angry shout while taking a seat on the comfy couch. "Never mind that. You deserted me. What kind of a friend are you anyway?"

"The sadistic kind."

"Ah."

They sat there, quietly watching the movie and enjoying the relaxed environment. About an hour later they heard Sasuke come in and go to his room. They glanced at each other, shrugged and turned back to the movie. When it ended Yuuko showed her friend to her room and went to take a shower. After cleaning herself from the sweat and the dirt she changed into her clean underwear before climbing into the bed. She was soon sleeping.

-

-

**Darkness engulfed her, choking her. She couldn't speak. She couldn't breathe. When she thought that this was the end - that she would die, that this empty darkness would kill her - it suddenly retreated. The light in the underground cell that before had seemed dim and dark was now blinding her as she struggled to breathe again. Genjutsu. **

**"Ready to answer yet?"**

**She let out a broken sob and then cursed herself for showing weakness in front of her captor. "I... told you. That I was drugged... I don't know what they did to me!"**

**The man came closer and she tried to crawl away but the stonewall hit her bruised back and she whimpered. Three weeks of being beaten, having genjutsu crumble her mind - it was all too much and she was starting to lose control over her emotions. The walls she had built around her mind during the **_**procedures**_** were crumbling with each genjutsu the man threw her in.**

**He knelt down and grabbed her chin making her face him. "You really don't know."**

**It wasn't a question, it was a fact and Yuuko was shocked for after weeks of explaining the same thing over and over, was he finally believing her? **

**He stared at her with that same impassive look he gave her every time he 'visited'. Then he stood and left the cell leaving her to her messed up thoughts.**

**-**

**-**

She slowly blinked in the dark, letting her eyes get used to the moonlight that came in through the window. Another nightmare. No. Another memory. Speaking about Itachi had made this one come forth, she knew that. She sat up and pressed her face into her hands, refusing to think about this particular memory. That was where it all had began.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7****  
**

_**Yuuko stared in surprise at the open scroll that lay before her. Her hands had been tied in front of her before she had been led, a bag covering her eyes to this clearing in the woods. Seals covered the large area and the man who had brought her had left her alone. Alone with her captor. Itachi.**_

_**"Is this what I think it is?"**_

_**She received no reply and she hadn't expected one. Itachi stepped towards her, kunai in hand and she quickly held up her hands, "Wait!" He stopped and waited for her to continue. "Can I at least read the terms before I doom myself by signing it in blood?" He didn't move so she took the opportunity and read what was expected of her after having Itachi force her to sign this blood-oath scroll. Line after line until she was sure her mouth was touching the ground, that shocked she was. **_

_**"Is this some kind of a twisted joke?"**_

_**"...Have you finished reading?" Yuuko looked at the man and for the first time felt like she was in over her head. This made no sense and she couldn't fathom why the hell would he force her to do something that might end in his downfall. But she nodded and he came closer.**_

_**Soon drops of blood fell from the wound in her arm. Yuuko grimaced slightly, but held her tongue and watched in silence as the seals covering the ground glowed and then slowly disappeared into the earth. She had just made a blood-oath with Itachi.**_

_**-**_

_**-**_

Her eyes snapped open and she stared at the ceiling. Memories were coming forward like scenes from a movie she had seen too many times. The conversation with Sasuke had triggered this reminiscing and she swore to herself to never talk about her past again.

Yuuko groaned and looked at the clock on the wall. _Ten past twelve. Better get up._ She rose and dressed herself in her mini-skirt and tube-top. Quickly pulling her hair up in a ponytail she left her room and headed for the other guest room where Ketricken was staying. Half-way there she heard someone rummaging somewhere downstairs, so she hurried towards the sound.

Ketricken was the one rummaging in a closet full of kunai-packs and other things a ninja might need if they were to go on a longer trip.

"Ahem."

The red-head didn't look up, when she answered the silent question, "I'm getting us some kunai-packs and band-aids in case we need them. You got caught off guard once already, and by _fan-girls_ no less."

She huffed in annoyance, "That was once. And I had other things in mind. Do you really think that I'll start thinking about Orochimaru while traveling?"

"Hey, anything can happen."

Yuuko caught the kunai-pack thrown at her and looked it over before securing it on her right hip. Ketricked did the same. "So wait, we're leaving tonight?"

"Right now, actually."

"Why?"

"I want to get back early, alright?"

She stared at the red-head in disappointment. The girl wasn't telling her everything and it bothered her. "I'll go get my things."

Ketricken only nodded while heading for the front door.

-

-

He recognized them right away. It was the afternoon and the marketplace was full of people shopping, but he noticed them. Probably everyone did considering the looks they got from the townspeople. The red-head-he had tried to make a pass at-didn't even seem to notice them. She only stepped onwards wearing a stony expression. Yuuko, on the other hand was nervously glancing at everyone and also at Ketricken. The girl didn't seem to be alright so he guessed what they were doing.

They were leaving.

He jumped off the roof he had been sitting on and put his book safely in his pocket. He then followed them to the entrance of the village and he didn't even try to cover his presence. Soon enough (right before stepping outside of Konoha) they turned and waited for him to say something.

"You don't have to go, Yuuko."

She closed her eyes and sighed. "I already told you, this is in the village's best interests. Plus we already have a place we can stay in. You don't have to worry about a thing, Kakashi." Her voice sounded wary and it did nothing to lessen his concern. He stepped forward and placed his arms gently around her, embracing her. She embraced him in return for a moment before stepping back and giving him a small smile.

"Goodbye."

The red-head gave him a curt nod before they both left Konoha, the fake hitae-ates around their thighs holding the guards from stopping them.

-

-

A/N: Yes I know. ( ' . ' ) I haven't updated in a while (AGAIN! ) And now you have this UBERshort chapter. Well. This is sort of an interlude. Don't you worry, the chapters won't go back to short XD No, I will try to make them at least 3000+ since I update so rarely.

Anyway! In two weeks a week-long school holiday will start! Yay! And I will do my best to at least TRY to finish this story at that time. The ideas are no longer a problem. I have everything worked out... well almost everything. The things that _are_ a problem: time and writing. I need to put my thoughts into words and that's never easy.

Next chapter teaser:

Secrets Between Friends.

I only gave you the chapter's name XD Don't want to spoil too much now do I?

R & R :)


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**__

"Shouldn't we make camp?"

"Why would we do that?"

"...Because it's getting dark, and you always say that you don't want to move when it's night because then we can fall into traps and-"

"Okay! We'll fucking stop then, happy?"

Yuuko sighed when she plopped down on the forest ground and stretched her legs. They had been running for about eight hours straight and although her stamina was far from depleted, her leg muscles were protesting. "If you're going to snap at me like that, then no. I'm not happy."

The red-head rolled her eyes, before sitting down as well. It was actually dark already, the sun having set a few minutes before Yuuko had realized that Ketricken seemed to be desperate to get away from Konoha as fast as possible. A little too desperate, in her mind. "Sleep, I'll take the first watch."

"Not until you tell me whats going on."

Midnight blue met yellow when Ketricken stared, before asking in a nonchalant manner, "What ever do you mean?"

"I mean, what's up with you running away from the village like the devil himself is on your heels? What's up with waking me up and ordering me to get ready without a warning the night before?"

"I just want to get to Grass before..." For some reason Ketricken stopped herself from finishing that sentence and turned her head away, breaking the glaring contest between the two girls. "Just go to sleep."

She stared at the red-head for a few moments before sighing and laying down, turning her back to her friend.

_Something is wrong._

-

-

_**She was wandering in the woods, the moon shining down at her pale and thin form. They had released her, had let her go with her life after she had signed that blood-oath scroll. But it had been more like throwing her out. Itachi had led her some ways away from the compound before taking off the blindfold and throwing an Akatsuki cloak at her feet. Then he had disappeared, leaving her there - shivering, tired and in pain from the wounds Itachi had given her during her first weeks in that cell.**_

_**She coughed heavily and leaned on a tree, wheezing and gasping. She let out a whimper. She was lost and if her wounds didn't get treated soon, they would kill her. She seriously didn't understand that Uchiha. How the hell was she supposed to do the things asked of her if she were to die in these woods.**_

_**She struggled onwards, her legs starting to shake. After some minutes of steady walking she fell down, her body protesting when she tried to get up again. Her rapid breathing slowed, and she blinked heavily before she lost consciousness.**_

**-**

**-**

Something hit her shoulder and her eyes snapped open. In a flash she was standing a kunai in hand, ready for battle. But she relaxed and cursed as soon as she saw the mischievous smile on the other girl's face. Ketricken had thrown a stone at her.

"Really mature."

"Thank you. Now, if you don't mind I'm going to sleep."

Ketricken turned her back to Yuuko, who sat-legs crossed-on the ground again. Very soon she heard the red-head's steady breathing and relaxed fully, closing her eyes and focusing on the area around them, letting her chakra spread out and create an "alarm bubble"around them. If anyone were to step inside that, she would know immediately. Her _bubble_ ready. she started to contemplate on her dreams.

_Why am I seeing these things of no importance. Was it Sasuke that triggered it? Or maybe this time it was the forest?_

Yuuko looked around her and had to admit that the woods looked similar to the one she had been lost some time ago, but there were differences as well. This one seemed calm and somewhat tranquil, unlike the other forest with it's fog and half-dead trees and the menacing air that was too heavy for you to breathe, making you gasp and choke...

She closed her eyes and stopped that line of thought. Yuuko sighed before concentrating on their surroundings again.

-

-

The second day of their travel was ending and it was getting dark again. Ketricken hadn't said a word to her since Yuuko had woken the girl up that morning. She had just continued moving, knowing that Yuuko would follow. The red-head was careful, nervous and worried. Some other person wouldn't have noticed this, because of the cold mask on the girl's face, but Yuuko saw how her blue eyes shifted from right to left, checking over everything and also how those eyes kept glancing back at her, as if she were to disappear any moment.

She had had enough. In mid jump she twisted her angle and instead of reaching the next tree branch she hit the ground and straightened, folding her arms across her chest. The other girl heard the sound of feet hitting ground and stopped as well, turning back to see Yuuko standing there, her eyes demanding an answer.

"Keep moving."

"No. Not until you tell me what's wrong."

She sighed before jumping down as well. "I'm not sure if I should."

"Well, I'm not moving until you tell me everything."

Blue met yellow as they had another glaring contest, which ended with Yuuko winning as always. Ketricken looked down at her feet, which fidgeted slightly and closed her eyes before speaking softly, "There were rumors going around in Sound. The Sound nin were talking about Orochimaru's next plan." She heard Yuuko coming closer, but didn't open her eyes, "I managed to overhear a couple of jounin talking about it, while walking past the forest." Now she met the other girl's eyes as she revealed what Yuuko wanted to know, "He's going to attack Konoha."

A sharp intake of breath before a soft _thump_. Ketricken knelt before the slumped girl and tried to get her to see reason, "I didn't tell you because I knew you wouldn't have left. But you know we are no match against him. Fighting him would mean using up all of our chakra, which would end in our downfall as well. I don't want to lose you Yuuko," she placed her hands on the girl's cheeks, gently lifting her head, making her distraught eyes focus on her, "I don't want to lose you."

"But, we have to help them!"

Yuuko needn't tell who she meant by that, Ketricken knew, "Yuuko listen, Kakashi is the Copy Ninja, Sarutobi is the freaking Hokage and Sasuke, he is a fucking Uchiha. They'll be fine. You know they will."

The girl nodded weakly.

"You know that all three of them would want you to be safe. Well, maybe not the kid, don't know about him... anyway, Kakashi would kill you himself if you were to go back now, knowing that your father will be there!"

The girl nodded again, now looking a bit more determined.

"We just got to keep on moving, alright? I don't know when he's going to attack. It could be today or hell, it could be in two or three weeks. But _we_ have to be in hiding by then. So, you ready to go on?"

"Promise me, we'll keep ourselves updated on how Konoha's doing."

The red-head stared at the girl who looked insecure, so unlike the facade she liked to use. She knew that this was what Yuuko really was. Not strong or seductive as people liked to think, no. Yuuko was insecure and full of self-doubt. And it warmed her heart, that this girl trusted her so much, that she would let her weakest side show through.

"I promise."

-

-

The walk home was duller than ever before. He had gotten it, just like he knew he would. Sasuke stared at the hitae-ate now in his hand. This was what he had wanted... right? This was what he had trained for. To be a genin, so he could become a chuunin, so he could become a jounin and in the end he planned to become an ANBU, the best way to get to Itachi. But it seemed like a long road. Too long, and it would take too much time. Through all of this Itachi would still be free to roam around killing other people's families.

He entered the Uchiha compound.

Often he thought of moving away from here. Away from the memories of him and his aniki spending time together, the memories of him begging for attention from his father. It hurt to remember. But somehow he couldn't leave. These memories hurt and they made him angry. And they made him hate Itachi. And he needed this hate so he could reach his goal faster.

He entered his house.

He remembered Yuuko's face as the girl told him of her past. What her father did to her, in one way it seemed nothing compared to his past, yet in another way it seemed worse. To have your own family torturing you, using you as a tool. But wasn't that what Itachi was doing to him as well? Wasn't his brother torturing him, letting him live so he could dream of his parents' dead bodies and of Itachi's mangekyo sharingan staring at him, challenging him every night?

Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed before heading upstairs. As much as he hated it, he needed company at the moment to keep his mind from wandering back to that night when his entire life had changed. He knocked on Yuuko's door and waited. When no answer came he frowned before entering the room. Looking around, he noticed that the bed was made and when he looked into the closet he found that all the clothes she had, were gone.

He ran quickly downstairs and checked the kitchen as well. On his way to the living room, he saw that the cupboard next to the stairs was open slightly. He took a look inside and realization hit him as he saw two of his kunai packs missing.

She was gone.

And for some reason it hurt.

-

-

Fuzzy:

Hello again XD I know this isn't 3000+ XD But hey I have the next chappie already half-ready. All you need to do is ask for it ;D 

I'll just thank sasukez again LOL. For inspiring me to write this.

So, school holiday! YAY! No studying for a week! I'm like... crazy happy right now XD

So R&R ;) and make me even more happier! X)


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Ketricken entered the cottage and nodded to Ryu, who was washing the dishes in the small kitchen.

"Where's Yuuko?"

"She's in the living room, watching some horror flick." The purple-haired woman stopped smiling as soon as she noticed the grave look on her friend's face.

"What's wrong?"

"I'll explain later. First I need to talk to Yuuko."

"Okay. Oh, there's some dinner left for you in the fridge."

Ketricken smiled at the twenty-year-old and thanked her before heading for the living room. Already she could hear screaming, manical laughter and the sound of a chainsaw. She chuckled softly before entering the room. Yuuko was sitting on the couch, gripping a pillow tightly as she watched the chainsaw killer murder a person in an overly bloody and grotesque way.

"Why do you watch those, if you know you're going to have nightmares?"

"Because it's exhilarating. Now shut up."

The red-head sighed and sat next to the girl. She knew the real reason of course, and she understood perfectly. It was much easier to live with nightmares about psychopathic killers with faces you don't know trying to kill you instead of your own father coming after you.

"Listen, Yuuko-"

"Wait, here's the best spot!"

She watched as the girl's eyes widened in horror and wonder as the young man's head was sliced off and blood flew everywhere. Then the scene changed and Yuuko put it on pause before turning and giving her a questioning glance.

"I received some news about Orochimaru... and Konoha." She now had her full attention. "Your father is back in Sound."

Yuuko frowned, "But that's good right? I mean, that means that Konoha is not destroyed, right? Everyone's okay, right?" Her voice was frantic and she looked as if she wanted to shake the answers out of Ketricken. Since her fingers started to twitch ominously, the red-head decided, she better tell it bluntly.

"Yes and no." The sixteen-year-old quirked an eyebrow at her and she took a great gulp of air, "Konoha is a little damaged, but the rebuilding has already started."

Yuuko relaxed, "Oh. Then everything is alright." When Ketricken remained silent and didn't meet her eyes, she tensed up again, "Ketricken?" The red-head avoided her searching gaze and Yuuko finally put a hand on the girl's shoulder, "What are you not telling me?"

"Yuuko..." Ketricken blinked slowly, "He killed Sarutobi." The hand on her shoulder grew limp and fell on the couch. She looked up and met the girl's shocked eyes.

"No..."

The red-head put her arms around the smaller form and drew her close, embracing her as she felt the body shake with quiet sobs. "I'm so sorry, Yuuko."

"No!" Yuuko grabbed Ketricken and held on tight, as cries of denial and anguish escaped her.

Neither girl noticed when Ryu left the cottage.

-

-

_1 year later._

Yuuko walked around the market, gathering the vegetables and the fruits Ketricken had asked for. If someone were to look at her, they would see a pink haired girl with green eyes instead of Yuuko. She had based her henge on Sakura, one of the fan-girls back in Konoha. Sometimes she would go as Ino as well, but normally she preferred Sakura, since the blond was far too attractive and caught the attention of too many pedophiles.

She payed for her food and headed back to the cottage, feeling cheerful enough to whistle... but she didn't. Because in fact she didn't know how to whistle. So she just hummed.

Her tune came to a sudden stop when she reached the cottage, a small house some ways from Sound. It was supposed to look woodsy and cheerful, like a place from fairy tales. At least that's how she described it to her friend when she had first seen it. It was supposed to look like that, not like this.

She whimpered as she stared at the ruins of the cottage. The roof had exploded, the walls had fell against each other, the door had been blown off. This seemed like the work of Ketricken's chakra.

_Someone had attacked_.

Dropping the bags of food on the ground she hurried inside, throwing pieces of wood here and there, lifting broken logs and squeezing herself further in, until she was finally in what once was the living room. She looked around, desperately searching for Ketricken. Yuuko was about to sigh, relieved, thinking that Ketricken must have been out and this wasn't the work of her chakra, when she saw the familiar red hair peeking out beneath a cluster of logs.

"Please be okay," her broken whisper didn't went unheard though as she saw a familiar cloak move in the shadows of the hall. "Who's there?" No one answered and she searched around her, desperate to see who had dared to hurt her friend, "Itachi?" She looked around one more time before rushing to her friend, lifting the logs until the broken and beaten body of Ketricken came to view. She choked back a sob as she dragged the girl away from the pile of rubbish and knelt down, clutching the bloody form.

She checked the girl's pulse and whimpered again when she felt none. Yuuko held the dead body in her arms and rocked back and forth, trying to wake up from this nightmare. She heard someone coming from the kitchen and turned around to see none other than Ryu, her hazel orbs glinting with humor and her mouth formed into a sweet smile.

"Oh dear. That's quite a pity."

"Y-you! A-aren't you K-Ketricken's friend?"

"Well, I pretended to be."

Yuuko growled, clutching the body tighter against her.

"Wow, you actually look quite scary with your eyes all red and puffy, baring your teeth like an animal. Wicked."

"W-why?"

"Oh well, I got quite a lot of money from the Akatsuki. You see, I've been spying for them quite some time now. If you think that I killed her, than I thank you for thinking so highly of me, but no. I didn't do it."

Yuuko moaned in anguish, still crying, but now angry as hell because she knew exactly who had killed her best friend.

"What the hell do you want, Itachi?"

"...I want you to hold your end of the deal." Just as she expected, the voice came from the hallway.

She sniffed, letting go of Ketricken. The girl's body fell limply to the floor and Yuuko took one last glance at her friend, before standing up and meeting Itachi's sharingan.

"Did you plan this from the start?" That cold, calculating glare sent chills down her spine. "You planned everything? Me going to Konoha, us living with Ryu - it was all part of some master-plan of yours?"

"...And what if it was?"

"You sick bastard!" Yuuko wiped away the tears from her cheeks and sent her best glare at him, "You had no reason to kill Ketricken, I would have done what you ordered anyway! The scroll said, I had to wait for three years!"

"...She was in the way."

"In the way? IN THE WAY? Is that why you killed your parents as well?! Were they in the way too?!" The next thing she knew, she had been thrown to the ground, the breath knocked out of her and a foot pushing down on her neck, choking her.

"...I changed some of my plans. You will wait with me at the Akatsuki compound. I want to keep _my own_ eye on you."

He removed the foot and Yuuko remained lying there as he stared at her with his sharingan, the dots beginning to move in fast circles. She knew what was happening and sobbed once, twice before taking a deep breath and focusing on his eyes.

"Sleep."

And she slept.

-

-

Fuzzy:

I decided to put this one up as well. Considering how short the other one was. And how short this is. So together they make quite a fine installment for the day don't cha think ;D.

Next Chapter Teaser:

Yuuko spends 1,5 years with the Akatsuki, waiting for a certain event, Itachi said would happen. When it would, she was to finish her part of the deal. During her stay there, she has to deal with Kisame the pervert, Deidara the man-slut XD and lets see if she can handle psycho-analyzing Itachi ;D

Lets hope this fantastic filler-chapter will be here... on Sunday X)

Ja ne ;P

R&R


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

A kick in the ribs woke her up, making her hiss in pain. She slowly blinked her eyes open and stared at the figure that at first seemed too hazy to recognize, but as her eyes got used to the light Yuuko recognized the man. And she glared at him.

"Sharkie."

She received another sharp kick, "Wrong, try again."

"Kisama? ...Ow!" She rubbed at her ribs after the third kick and growled at the man.

"Wrong again."

"...Kisame, I need her unharmed."

They both turned to Itachi who had now entered the room as well.

_Wait, room?_

Yuuko looked around her and realized that yes, she was in a room. Quite a nice room actually, with a king sized bed, a huge wardrobe (for which she had nothing to fill it with), a desk and what surprised her the most was the huge window with a view to what she presumed to be the training grounds. As she took a closer look, she saw that there were explosion scrolls, which would go off when touched or moved in anyway, holding the window closed.

_Figures._

Funny that there was such a huge bed... and she was lying on the floor.

"You don't need her _now_. Broken ribs will heal in a few months." And another kick at her ribs. This was getting quite annoying. Yuuko tried to sit up better, or maybe even to stand up, but was unsuccessful as her body was still a little sluggish and numb.

"...Kisame." Itachi needn't say any threats, or even look at the man he was threatening. People just knew that they were on dangerous ground by his aura. And the way the air thickened. Quite wicked actually. Yuuko had always wanted to do that.

Sharkie moved away from her a little, sighing, "Fine, fine. You're lucky you're useful, brat."

She chuckled dryly, "Yeah, lucky. Anyone want to explain where the hell am I? And what am I going to do here?"

"...You're going to train at the Akatsuki compound."

She looked at Itachi oddly, "So basically you're going to teach me the stuff you want me to teach Sasuke? You're... weird."

Kisame snorted, "Glad I'm not the only one who thinks that."

"I mean honestly, couldn't you not murder the Uchihas? Then you'd have all the time in the world to teach Sasuke."

"...I have my reasons."

Yuuko tested her arms by pushing herself to a sitting position and was happy when they didn't shake, meaning she was ready to stand up. She rose with a slight swagger before gaining balance and walking over to the bed, where she sat down on the soft mattress.

"And those reasons are...?"

She didn't get an answer and she hadn't expected one. Itachi was one to never share information without there being some kind of a purpose.

"Anyone know what time it is?"

"Five o'clock."

"Thanks, Sharkie."

He took a menacing step towards her, but one look from Itachi stopped him. Kisame grumbled something about 'annoying little girls' while leaving the room.

"So what am I supposed to do _today?_"

"...Rest. We will start training tomorrow."

"What fun. Any chance of getting something to eat?"

"...I'll have Deidara bring you food and anything else you might need."

Yuuko stared at the man... no at the _monster_in horror, "You wouldn't! Not him!"

If Itachi was the kind of person to use facial expressions, she knew he would smirk at her. As it is, he didn't. But there was a suspiciously odd glint in his eyes, when he glanced at her just before leaving. Yuuko huffed and threw herself on the bed.

_Damn, this feels nice_. She swept her hands across the silk sheets and sighed, wishing Ketricken were here to feel this. She shut her eyes and imagined what her friend might say.

_"Fuck yeah!"_

She wouldn't cry anymore. No, Ketricken hated crybabies. And her goal now was to live through this Akatsuki period and to make her friend (who she was sure was watching her at this very moment from somewhere above) proud.

She looked at the ceiling and smiled sadly, picturing Ketricken's face telling her to move on.

_I miss you already._

_-_

_-_

Yuuko heard three knocks on the door and cringed before taking a deep breath and opening the door, facing her worst nightmare.

"Why it's been too long, Yuu-"

She quickly snatched the tray from his hands and shut the door with her leg, quickly moving for her desk. The door slammed open behind her and the angry blond entered her room.

"That wasn't nice Yuuko. I am your guest, yeah."

"Well you're an unwanted guest, so please take your leave." Yuuko placed the tray on the wooden surface and closed her eyes, mentally counting to ten, while trying to ignore the pest that was sneaking up closer.

"No need to be so formal, yeah."

Arms encircled her waist and she growled, stepping on his toes.

"That fucking hurt, you bitch!"

She turned and pushed him farther away, ignoring his whining, "Don't touch me, you man-whore."

Deidara chuckled, "Man-whore?"

"That's what you are aren't you? Akatsuki's personal slut. They must dig your feminine looks. Or did you lose your job now that Ryu is in the picture. But of course, the poofs in your organization use you to satisfy their lust for young boys, I suppose." Her attempt at making the blond angry failed however, as he only let out a surprised laugh.

"Wow, you've certainly grown, yeah. Last time the only thing you could think of was insulting my hair color. But still, that wasn't very nice, yeah. You should save insults like that for Kisame."

"He doesn't annoy me as much as you do, blondie."

Deidara rolled his eyes as he decided to lounge in her bed, "There you go again with the hair color. Do you have something against blonds?"

"I might."

He only chuckled, "Well, the bath is ready for you."

"Bath?"

"Yeah."

_Oh thank god, I can take a bath!_

"Where?"

The blond stood and gestured for her to follow him. Her food forgotten she hurried after him to the hall and from there to the room two doors down. She entered and gasped at the huge bath in the floor. It was like a big circular hole filled with hot water, steam filling the room. There was a bundle of clothes next to the bath and she raised an eyebrow at Deidara.

"Your nightclothes. Itachi thought you might want to get your clothes washed for tomorrow. Training is much better in clean clothes, yeah."

Yuuko smiled wryly, _Of course... Training._

"Any chance of joining you?"

She glared at the blond, "Any chance of stopping you from joining me?"

"Well, yeah, since I can't do anything against your wishes, unless I want to get beaten up by Itachi."

Her brows shot up. _Okay, they are all being too nice. Somehow I think that tomorrow is going to be hell._

Deidara grinned at her suggestively, "But if you want me to stay..."

The only answer he got was a glare, so he put up his hands in surrender and sighed dramatically, "Would've been fun, yeah," before leaving the bathroom.

Yuuko waited for the door to close before squealing excitedly. She quickly stripped, throwing her clothes on the floor and dived into the water. She surfaced and gasped because of the scalding temperature. She swam to the other end where she had noticed a soap and a bottle of shampoo sitting on the edge, waiting for her to use them. She washed her head and rinsed before sitting on the edge and soaping up her body, happy to get the dust and dirt off of her. She was just about to put the soap away, when the door opened and she let out a surprised yell before quickly grabbing the fluffy white towel that had been placed around her new clothes and covered her upper body with it. Slipping back into the bath wouldn't have helped, seeing as the water was so clear it wouldn't hide anything. Yuuko glared at the intruder.

He had a big grin on his face when he spotted her, "You finally ready to admit your position in life?"

_Funny, how everyone likes to use slut-jokes._

"Ha. Ha. As much as I love your idiotically simple sense of humor, I must admit that your skin color isn't exactly a turn-on for me."

They both stared at each other in silence as the tension grew.

He glared before turning away, "I'm gonna leave before I wring that neck of yours."

"You do that, Sharkie!"

Kisame growled while leaving, slamming the door closed. Yuuko swallowed and sighed, throwing the now soapy towel on the floor and jumped into the water. For one second there, she had thought of the possibility of getting raped, but as it seemed, she had Itachi's protection. And that scared her even more.

"What the hell is he planning to do tomorrow?" Her eyes shot up at the ceiling, where she pictured Ketricken's face again, telling her to stop being such a whiny brat. Miraculously, it helped.

-

-

Tomorrow came far too early when she was woken by someone strongly shaking her shoulders. Opening her eyes, she growled at the blue-skinned man and he growled back. Their animalistic conversation was broken however by Deidara, who chose that moment to throw her clean clothes at her. She bit her lower lip as she checked them, making sure nothing was done to them before slipping out of bed and starting to change before stopping and turning around to see the two males watching her with lewd grins on their faces.

"Get. Out."

"Come on, give us a show, kid."

"What he said, yeah."

Yuuko crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the perverts until they both sighed and rolled their eyes before leaving.

"If you keep acting like that, someone would think you were brothers or something." She shouted after them, making them send chilling glares over their shoulders before slamming the door closed.

She chuckled and took off the simple black cotton pajamas, replacing them with her own clothes. She decided to do some stretching before Itachi called her, thinking that the Uchiha would probably want to get straight to the 'good' part-as in to beat her up.

A few stretches later Deidara entered again, "I'll show you to the training grounds, yeah."

A few minutes later they were on the field, where Itachi waited.

A few hours later Yuuko wished she was dead.

Training had been, exactly like she had imagined. Horrible, excruciating and utterly embarrassing. Yes, she had stamina. And yes she considered herself skillful, well she had, before Itachi had proven her wrong. Today, they had focused on taijutsu and she cringed later in her room when she tried to find a comfortable position that wouldn't make her hiss in pain. The man was faster than anyone she had ever fought. He hadn't even used the sharingan on her. He had just blocked and deflected all of her kicks and punches and had retaliated in a way that made her feel shamed about her style and speed.

Itachi was an interesting teacher, that was for sure.

He hadn't said one word during and after the battle. He only gave her that disapproving stare before he left, uninjured and not even sweating.

Yuuko should have known the man's strength and shouldn't have even dreamed of beating Itachi. The man had after all managed to kill Ketricken, who had been twice as strong as Yuuko.

Yuuko should have also known that a man like Itachi expected you to figure it out on your own and would never correct your stance or your style. No, he would only defeat you making you feel humiliated and making you want to change your way of fighting.

And in a way it worked. Yuuko was now ready to do anything to get as good as Itachi. Even if it meant sacrificing her own uniqueness in battle. Ketricken would disapprove, but she honestly didn't care anymore. This man... he had power. And now, after seeing it, she could _almost_ understand why everyone wanted it so bad.

-

-

Three months had passed and her training had changed. They still focused on taijutsu, but after a while, Itachi had started to make slight comments about her techniques, pointing out her mistakes, making it easier for her to improve now that she knew what she was doing wrong. Sometimes they had an audience, which usually consisted of three people: Kisame, Deidara and Ryu. Sharkie had at first made lewd comments each time she and Itachi had got into a compromising situation, but one look from the Uchiha made him shut up. _As if I would ever want to fuck my personal torturer._

Deidara hadn't exactly stayed quiet as well, but his comments were more on the subject of Yuuko's hair or clothes, asking for permission to correct them. She of course refused quite bluntly making him insult her, which usually started a shrewd banter between the two of them. And of course it was silenced by a look from Itachi.

Ryu on the other hand had only shown up for the first two weeks, but after Itachi had understood that her presence made Yuuko angry and therefore not pay attention, he had told her to stop coming. Yuuko had been grateful, it showed on her face, but she didn't voice it. After all, thanking the man who had killed her best friend just for removing the woman-who had pretended to be their confidant on _his_command-out of her sight seemed ridiculous.

They had had one of their daily training again and this time only Deidara had been watching. Yuuko knew she was improving by the fact that when at first she couldn't dodge one blow from Itachi, not even mentioning hitting him herself, now she had managed to dodge half of his blows and had even managed to kick him... once. In the ribs. And he hadn't even flinched.

They were finished and Yuuko dropped down to do her usual stretching, so her muscles wouldn't be sore in the morning. Usually this was the time when Itachi would leave and Deidara would attack her with his special combs and the skirts he was trying to get her to wear (if the man wasn't such a flirt, she would swear that he was gay). But as usual, the Uchiha managed to surprise her by actually sitting as well, leaning on the tree at the edge of the clearing, his stare impassive and devoid of any emotion.

"...You have improved."

Yuuko froze in mid-stretch and gaped at him. Before she managed to say any jokes of Itachi actually complementing her, realization hit. The man was just stating a fact like always. No need to get her hopes up, that he was actually human. She sighed and stopped her stretching, leaning back on her hands to gaze at the man thoughtfully, also noticing that Deidara had left already.

"Well, your teaching methods have improved as well."

The man didn't answer to that, but there was that odd glint in his eyes again and Yuuko was unsure what exactly it meant. Was he amused, or maybe just annoyed?

"...You asked about my reasons."

It took her a while to get what he was talking about. And when she did, she refused to believe it. "Are you actually considering telling me your reasons? Why?"

Itachi stood and now Yuuko could clearly see the amusement in his eyes. But it was still odd. It didn't seemed to be amusement from something like a joke or at someone's humiliation. No, it was bitter... and too complicated for Yuuko to comprehend.

"...I'm not considering. And I'm not going to tell you."

_Well, it had seemed highly unlikely anyway._

_"_But I _am_ going to show you."

"Huh?" Was all she could get out, before she saw those dots spinning again and she gasped in realization just before she was hit with memories he sent her. Things that he either created or remembered for her. Memories from his childhood. Through the eyes of an onlooker she watched the scenes unfold. Memories from his teens. Through the eyes of a third person she saw how he saw it. His reasons. He showed her his reasons and his feelings and finally Yuuko began to understand.

She was removed from the imaginary world, and found herself in the exact same position as before. Nausea hit her as the flashes of his past kept running before her eyes.

Yuuko swallowed down the bile and rose shakily, panting, her breath catching in her throat every once in a while, "How do I know you didn't create those memories? That world is yours and you control everything there..."

"...I am not fond of lying."

She let out an outrageous laugh, "Not fond? _NOT FOND_? You had no problem lying to your brother!" Yuuko waited for a response, anything that would make him seem the slightest bit guilty of what he had done, but none came. "Sasuke deserves the truth!" The man only walked forward, brushing her shoulder when he stopped next to her.

"...Do you understand now?" She closed her eyes, horrified and nodded, swallowing her whimper.

Itachi left her there to cry alone and she apologized to her best friend for showing her tears, before she collapsed-weary and tired-just so she could see his nightmares all over again.

-

-

A/N:

Hola my faithful readers ;D Must say I was very happy with the reviews I got for my last chapter, never mind how short they were. This is what I'm talking about people. It's not about the length, it's not about the numbers, it's about letting me know that there are actually people who wish for me to update ;) That's all I'm asking: If you like what you read, let me know and I'll have another reason (you) to update for xD

So, about this chapter:

Yes... mourning for Ketricken... well. I tried to explain why Yuuko would get over it so easily... but it sounds fake to me XD Don't worry in the next chapter, which is consisted of memories - Ketricken's and Itachi's (if we dare to believe him) - there will be more of how they met and how exactly they became friends.

About what I said in the preview for this chapter... I must admit I planned for it to go differently. I planned for this to have the whole 1,5-2 years of waiting for that... event as I mentioned. But this waiting will go on a little longer.

Itachi lovers out there... well, I hope you will be happy with the next chapter, because it actually justifies him hurting Sasuke ;D And some clever people will understand what that blood-scroll was all about x)

Ja ne,

Fuzzy

Edit: OMIGOD XD Thank you Sasukez for pointing out a huge yet funny mistake. XD The way I said it... a few pharagraphs above.. it sounds like Ketricken and Itachi are friends lol. No. I mean Yuuko's and Itachi's memories. And how Yuuko and Ketricken became friends. Thought I'd clear that up ;D


	12. Chapter 11

Warning: Mentions of child abuse, violent and sexual. It's not rated M however because I don't go all descriptive about it. So if you see it getting too... nasty for you to handle (hardly, it's not even soft-core lol) just scroll down to the next memory.

If it isn't mentioned how old Itachi is, here's a tip: He's five years older than Sasuke ;D

**Chapter 11**

**The house was dark when the ten-year-old Itachi entered in the middle of the night. He moved soundlessly through the halls, warily looking around him, hoping that no one would wake. But luck wasn't on his side as he stepped into his room only to find his father sitting on his bed, apparently waiting for him.**

**"Where were you?"**

**Itachi straightened, and removed all emotions from his face before he answered, "I was training and it got late before I noticed."**

**"You should notice such things as the sun setting." His father stood and came closer to him, so his glare could be seen better in the candle's dim light. "You made your mother worry."**

_**But not you?**_

**"I understand, I apologize, it won't happen again." He kept it short in case his disappointment were to show. Luckily his father didn't catch anything, for he didn't react.**

**"We must make sure it doesn't."**

**He looked at his father suspiciously and almost missed the hand that flew at him.**

_**-**_

_**-**_

**Her eyes flew open suddenly and she started coughing, her throat sore and dry. She quickly turned from her laying position to her hands and knees and coughed until she finally vomited. When she had finished a flask, filled with water was pushed into her hand and she drank from it greedily, shuddering at the feel of cold water sliding down her sensitive throat.**

**She slightly sputtered before swallowing heavily and handed the flask back at the girl next to her. She looked around and found herself to be in the same spot she had fainted at. Her eyes swept over the fire and then finally met the eyes of the stranger who had helped her. The girl however flinched slightly when their gazes met and Yuuko frowned.**

**"Who are you?" Her voice sounded rough and she almost fell into another coughing fit.**

**"I could ask the same from you." The girl quirked a red eyebrow at her.**

**"I asked first."**

**"Ketricken."**

**"Yuuko."**

**For a while both were silent as they decided on what questions to ask.**

**"How did you get here?"**

**Yuuko looked at Ketricken and found that she couldn't hold it in anymore. Loud sobs made her body shake and she almost laughed at the shocked and unsure look on the red-head's face. She gestured her to be silent and to not come any closer. Ketricken nodded slightly in understanding and stayed put while Yuuko told her the whole story, crying at the same time.**

**-**

**-**

**Eleven-year-old Itachi stared at his father apprehensively.**

**"You're drunk."**

**The man only laughed and staggered slightly when he tried to stand. He sighed in disgust and bent down to help his father up from the floor of the bar. He sent a glare at the few people there, silently sending a message that if someone were to hear about this, they would lose a few limbs. He placed his father's arm on his shoulders and let the man lean on him as he practically dragged him out into the fresh air. His father moaned slightly at the cold, but otherwise stayed silent.**

**The trip back home was dreadful as they stayed silent and the cold wind stung their cheeks.**

**They entered their house and Itachi dragged the man into his parent's room. He dropped his father on the bed and started to prepare him for the night.**

**"Where's your mother?" His father was still an Uchiha, and therefore his words didn't slur as much as they should when the man had drank over eight bottles of sake.**

**"She's spending the night at grandmother's house. Sasuke is with her."**

**"Ah."**

**The dark gaze of his father was heavy on him as Itachi started to remove his father's kimono. Suddenly fingers ghosted over his cheek and he quickly slapped the hand away.**

**"Y'know you look just like her. So pretty."**

**Itachi frowned and decided to leave his clothes alone and started to leave, but was stopped when hands grabbed his arms, pulling him into his father's chest. He swallowed hard, feeling fear for the first time as the man's hands caressed him in ways they shouldn't. Suddenly his father didn't seem so drunk anymore as the strength in his arms held Itachi from running from the room. **

**He struggled, and did everything in his power to stop him. But he was just a small child compared to his father.**

**Itachi was glad that Sasuke wasn't home as his cries of pain and panic echoed in the house.**

**-**

**-**

**"So, you're Orochimaru's daughter?"**

**"Yeah."**

**"And you escaped about six months ago?"**

**"Yeah."**

**"And you were held captive by an organization called the Akatsuki?"**

**"Yeah."**

**"And they freed you, on the condition that you would train your torturer's little brother, so that boy could hold his own against... your torturer?"**

**"Well, I guess. But **_**they**_** didn't free me. **_**He**_** did."**

**"Your torturer?"**

**"Yeah."**

**"And there was a blood-scroll for this agreement?"**

**"Yeah."**

**"So basically, you're fucked."**

**"...Yeah."**

**-**

**-**

**He smiled at his seven-year-old otouto as he held his arms out for the little one. Sasuke ran at him, giggling, and hugged him tightly.**

**"I missed you, aniki."**

**"I missed you too."**

**The mission had been tougher than he had first thought and it had taken him three months to complete it. He had missed his little brother, more than he ever thought he would and held on tighter as Sasuke started rambling about everything that had happened. He heard steps coming from the kitchen and lifted his eyes to glare at his father. There had been one good thing in this mission and that was the fact that he didn't have to look at this man's face the whole time. His dreams of that night, however, didn't relent and he had been vicious against his enemies. **

**His father only nodded at him before leaving them alone again. His tense body relaxed and his gaze softened when he looked at Sasuke, who had understood that something was wrong and was watching him with worried eyes. He sent the kid a little smile, assuring him, that he was fine.**

**Sasuke grinned back at him and backed away from his embrace, only to grab his hand and to drag his aniki into his little room.**

**"Tell me everything that happened, aniki! I want to know what techniques you used!"**

**-**

**-**

**She warily crawled into the big tree-house, quirking an eyebrow at the furniture - a futon, a small desk and a stool. In the corner there was actually a tiny fridge.**

**"Where did you get a fridge?"**

**"Stole it."**

**"Of course. And does it actually work? You have nowhere to plug it."**

**"I just use it as an icebox."**

**"Of course. And it works that way?" **

**"Not really. Take a seat, I'll go get some food and then I'll heal your wounds."**

**"You're a medic?"**

**"Kind of."**

**"So..." Yuuko sat herself down on the wooden floor, glad to see that the tree-house was steady and could probably hold both of them, "What's for dinner?"**

**"Cold ramen."**

**"...And for breakfast?"**

**"Cold ramen."**

**"...And for lunch?"**

**"Cold ramen."**

**Of all the people in the world, the one who had saved her was a ramen-freak. "Fuck."**

**-**

**-**

**For the next three days his mother hadn't looked him in the eye, not once. Itachi was growing suspicious of the reasons behind this avoidance. Getting sick of it, during one night when Sasuke and his father were asleep he confronted his mother in the garden, where she usually took a walk before turning in for the night.**

**"Mother."**

**She didn't jump nor did she look startled when she stood up from her crouched position by her favorite bush of roses. "Itachi." She still didn't meet his eyes and it angered him even more.**

**"Why have you been avoiding me?"**

**"I have done no such thing, son."**

**"Why won't you look me in the eye?"**

**Her mouth grew to a tight line as she swallowed and turned her head away, "I'm sorry."**

**Itachi frowned slightly, "Sorry for what?"**

**The woman took a deep breath before finally meeting his glare, "I'm sorry I wasn't here."**

**At first he didn't understand, but realization and shock soon came and were replaced with anger, "You know."**

**His mother nodded, the painful look still there in her dark eyes, "Yes, he told me right away after you had left for your mission."**

**"And yet you have taken no action against him?"**

**"H-He was drunk, Itachi! He was drunk and he regrets it and he promised it would never happen again. It was a mistake. A terrible mistake, I know. But it happened. And I won't let it tear our family apart!"**

**"Mother, he raped me!" It was the first time he had voiced it aloud and with it came a certain numbness not unwelcomed. **

**"I know that!" There they were. The tears. For the first time Itachi saw how pathetic and weak his mother truly was. She couldn't stand up to her own husband for the safety of her children because of her fear. And this only made the numbness grow bigger. "But t-think of Sasuke! He needs his father!"**

**"Sasuke would be better off without that man. Now that I think about it, he would be better off without you as well."**

**Itachi ignored the heartbroken look on his mother's face and left her there, returning to his room to let the numbness feed on his emotions until he fell into a dreamless sleep. **

**-**

**-**

**"Listen, there's something I need to tell you."**

**Yuuko slurped the ramen, flinching at the after-taste, "Shoot."**

**Her savior placed her empty bowl on the small table and stared at her so gravely, Yuuko decided to place her half-empty bowl on the table as well. "I know Orochimaru."**

**She froze, her mind conjuring up every possible meaning for knowing someone.**

_**Is she one of his spies? Am I going to be taken back there?**_

**"How?"**

**"I was his first experiment with the chakra-fluids. And I assume you're the one who replaced me after my escape."**

**"...Okay first of all, does that mean that he did to you what he did to me? And what are chakra fluids?"**

**"Yes, only I didn't get the second poison. The one meant to destroy your will. Luckily that didn't work anyway... And chakra-fluids are what they injected into you. It's kind of hard to explain what they are or how they were invented. Probably one of Kabuto's projects. But their effect is that they heighten your senses, enlarge your chakra and give you more stamina. If you get injected for three times a day, seven days a week for about two months, the effects will be permanent. After that, the more chakra-fluid you get the greater your chakra becomes."**

**Too bewildered to actually think that she is some kind of a super-being now she decided to focus on the little details, "How do you know all of this?"**

**"Overheard a couple of conversations between your father and his assistant."**

**"Ah."**

**"...That's all? I just explained to you that you're probably more powerful than a Kage and all you can say is 'ah'?"**

**"Probably?"**

**"Since I don't know how long you received the 'chakra-treatment', I wouldn't know how powerful you are."**

**"Four years."**

**The red-head frowned, "Oh. I thought the number would be smaller. I hoped it was a year."**

**Yuuko followed the girl's example by frowning in confusion, "Why?"**

**Ketricken bit her lower lip and turned her head away. Yuuko didn't like how the girl seemed so reluctant to tell her. "I guess I need to tell you something else as well."**

**"Like...?"**

**"Like why Orochimaru never used the chakra-fluids on himself."**

**-**

**-**

**"I need to have a word with you."**

**Itachi stared at the man emotionlessly, reluctant to hold the door to his room open for him, "I'm afraid, I'm not interested."**

**"I will not tolerate my own son being disrespectful towards me. I am still your father, boy and you would do best to remember that."**

**He didn't move to let the man in however and still stared at him with an impassive look on his face, "You stopped being my father when you decided to use me as a stress-reliever. Good day." He stepped away and closed to door, ignoring his father's shocked look. The door didn't remain closed however as it was slammed open. Shock had been removed from the man's face and anger had replaced it.**

**"Itachi, you **_**will **_**hear me out."**

**The teen didn't turn to meet his eyes, but didn't tell him to leave as well so the man continued. "What I did was wrong, I admit it. I should have done this a long time ago, but I was ashamed. And the only way I could express my shame was through anger. I truly regret what I did. I'm sorry, son. And... you're right. I'm not worthy to be your father." His voice had started off strong and yet as he finished his little tirade all that could be heard was a whisper. A whisper coming from a broken man. Itachi turned and realized as he stared at the hunched figure of his father that the man truly did regret it. And that maybe his mother had been right to be so desperate. **

**Itachi stepped a little closer, yet still remained at a safe distance. This didn't go unnoticed by the man, whose eyes hardened a little. "You're right. It was wrong. Too wrong. But I forgive you, and I'll try to put this behind us. Mother was right, we shouldn't let this tear out family apart."**

**His father nodded, "That's all I ask."**

**-**

**-**

**She was gasping for breath as the shock of truth finally hit her. Fury, desperation and fear mingled inside of her and fought for dominance. Finally fury won and she stood up and kicked the table over. Her insides burned, her mind was in turmoil and she was **_**so**_** desperate. Desperate for Ketricken to tell her it was a lie. That the truth wasn't so horrifying.**

**"How could he do this to me!? His own daughter!" And then pain. The pain of a child lost in darkness and weary of it. The pain took over and she slumped down on the floor, whimpering slightly as she embraced herself, rocking back and forth while kneeling, scared to death. She felt Ketricken move closer and wrap her arms around her shaking form.**

**"I'm sorry."**

**Yuuko shook her head, tears running down her cheeks, "He's the only one who should be sorry."**

**-**

**-**

**It was evening when his mother knocked on his door. **

**"I have to go meet a friend of mine. I'm taking Sasuke with me and we should be back by midnight."**

**He had only nodded and hadn't missed the sad look on her mother's face each time she looked at him. She pitied him, and Itachi hated it. The house was silent as he studied the scrolls he had found on a mission. They were named as blood-oath scrolls, something Itachi hadn't heard of. As he found out more about their abilities he started to grow more interested.**

**The sound of footsteps made him alert as he turned to his door, that opened a few seconds later. Three men entered, one of them being his father and the other two his father's colleagues, also from the Uchiha clan. One of them swayed suspiciously and all three had glazed looks in their eyes. Itachi felt his heart drop as he understood their intent. He stood, keeping a calm expression.**

**"How can I help you?"**

**One of the colleagues leered and came closer, his gaze greedily taking him in, "He was right, you look just like her. What a beautiful boy!" Itachi frowned at the mocking tone and docked the hand that came to grasp his shoulder. He quickly backed away and moved towards the door, which was soon blocked by the guy who was swaying madly. **

**"Yes, skin looks so soft, wanna touch!" His words were horribly slurred and Itachi again backed away only to feel himself bump into his father's chest. Panic rose within him again as the man's arms held him against his chest in a familiar embrace.**

**"I'm so sorry." The words were whispered into his ear before a kiss was planted on it. He squirmed, trying to get away but was unsuccessful.**

**The next morning her mother came to his room, where he lay immobile on the bed. She wept, she begged for forgiveness and she told him to think about Sasuke's future. But Itachi didn't answer. He only stared at her with a numb expression that made her weep even more.**

**He was done forgiving.**

**-**

**-**

**The air was heavy with sadness as the two girls thought about their impending doom. **

**"Fate seems to hate us."**

**"True."**

**"...Did it hurt for you as well?"**

**"The procedures?"**

**"Yeah."**

**"Like hell."**

**"Thought as much."**

**"What about the poison? What did it feel like?"**

**"...Wrong. Like it wasn't supposed to be in my body."**

**"Well, it wasn't."**

**"Yeah."**

**"Did the poison have any effect on you?"**

**"I'm not sure. After they injected it right before the procedures, they would tell me to calm down and I would. But it felt so wrong it messed up my insides and I ended throwing up every time. Kabuto didn't exactly like his lab being covered with puke so they stopped giving it to me after the first few weeks."**

**"That's disgusting."**

**"Ketricken?"**

**"What?"**

**"What are we supposed to do know? Just... wait until it finally happens?"**

**"I don't know. I guess that's what I have been doing for the past five years."**

**"I don't want to wait. It would be too... agonizing, don't you think?"**

**"Well, we know exactly when it happens, so not exactly."**

**"But still. I don't want to sit here and watch how it happens to you only to have it happening to me as well."**

**"Funny, how we can't say it aloud."**

**"...It would make it more real, I guess."**

**"Huh. So no waiting?"**

**"Let's live life day by day. I hear that's the most fun."**

**"Fine by me."**

**They smiled at each other and clasped their hands, feeling that some kind of a bond had just been formed.**

**-**

**-**

**A dinner was held at their house. Guests were invited. Among them were the 'two pedophiles' and sadly he had to attend. Their mocking gazes of lust were fortunately well-covered and no one noticed them but himself. He and his father had avoided each other for the past week, not looking nor speaking at each other and Sasuke had noticed. He had inquired about it from Itachi, but hadn't gotten an answer only a poke on the forehead. **

**During the meal, everyone chatted happily and drank sake. Soon he noticed it. Terror shot through him, but he didn't let it show. Unlike his mother who was staring at the table with wide eyes. She had noticed it too. And it looked as if they were the only ones.**

**After dinner, the men went to the pub, the women retired to their homes, Sasuke went to sleep and Itachi followed his mother into the kitchen.**

**"You saw it."**

**She froze for a moment before continuing to wash the dishes, shaking slightly, "Yes, I saw it. I'll talk to him about it. Tell him not to. Forbid him, anything to stop it from happening." A choked sob. **

**Angry at himself for feeling bitter he voiced his thoughts, "Yes, wouldn't want Sasuke to go through what I did... **_**twice.**_**"**

**A plate slipped from her numb fingers and Itachi hear her swallow heavily, "You're older, he's just a baby..."**

**"Of course. I have always been only your son, while Sasuke is your **_**baby boy**_**."**

**His mother wheeled around in shock, "Don't make it sound like I'm picking favorites."**

**"That's what you're doing, isn't it? You would do anything to protect him. But when it comes to me, you have already given up. Haven't you, mother?"**

**She closed her eyes in despair, "Don't say such things..."**

**"He won't listen to you mother. We both know his dislike towards Sasuke. When he won't join in, I'm sure he wouldn't mind letting his colleagues do the f-"**

_**SLAP**_

**He stared at his mother in slight shock, numb to the stinging of his cheek. But he hardened his face at the pitiful sight of her, "I say it because it's true. He won't listen to you. And you will give up again. But unlike you I will protect Sasuke. I will do **_**whatever**_** it takes."**

**He left her there, ignoring her weeping.**

**-**

**-**

**Three weeks pass as the girls concentrate on living every day to it's fullest, growing closer as they stole together, went clubbing under henge together, got drunk together and did everything else they could think of. During the night however, past came to haunt them and they huddled together in their little tree-house, seeking comfort and company. Their friendship deepened.**

**One day they had decided to go training again. During the time spent together, Ketricken had been teaching Yuuko how to control her chakra and showed her that she could do any jutsu she knew of without much practicing. It was dangerous however, to do any major jutsus in case anyone happened to be near-by. **

**That day they had decided on doing taijutsu training by their tree-house. Eight hours later, the girls slumped down, gasping for breath. Ketricken had also explained to Yuuko that even if her stamina is great, her muscles aren't used to being trained so thoroughly**

**They were tired, sweaty and all they wanted was to sleep.**

**And that's when they attacked.**

**Ketricken noticed the web coming at them first and grabbed Yuuko, while dodging the sticky substance. The Doki came next and Yuuko shouted as they opened their mouths and snake-like creatures headed towards her. She had enough sense to dodge and she quickly formed the seals needed for her newly learned jutsu.**

**"Kaze no Yaiba!" A blast of wind headed for the girl who was controlling the Doki from a tree branch. One of the demons jumped in front of her and she continued playing her flute, while another web was sent at Ketricken. A mocking laugh came from another tree branch and Yuuko glared at Sakon. The red-head sent a huge ball of fire at Kidomaru who easily jumped out of the way. Surprisingly, Sakon didn't join the fight instead watched calmly on as Yuuko tried to handle the Doki while Ketricken attempted to fry Kidomaru.**

**Yuuko jumped out of the Doki's way and tried to use Wind Blade on them, but it never worked. She was panicking, trying to remember the last jutsu Ketricken had thought her, yet the words remained forgotten. She couldn't see how the red-head herself was doing, but heard the frustrated shouts of all kinds of Fire Jutsu, so she figured she was fine on her own and concentrated on her own problem. **

**"Shuriken, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"**

**Yuuko heard the loud sound of hundred shuriken flying at once and knew that Kidomaru had no chance. A few moments later she heard the groan from the spider-like boy. She glanced at him and saw he had been hit with five shuriken, three of them stuck in his chest yet none of the wounds seemed to be lethal. Her short glance was a mistake however as she received a blow to the stomach, so strong she flew into the air, then she was punched in the chest, sending her flying against the tree, eight feet behind her.**

**"Yuuko!" She heard her friend shout her name, yet had lost the ability to speak. Her head hurt, her front hurt, she was in pain **_**everywhere**_** and her vision was blurring. Mouthing her friend's name the last thing she saw was the red-head's form standing in front of her, protecting her and the last thing she heard was the enraged shout, **

**"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"**

**-**

**-**

**Rumors had spread among the Uchiha clan. About what was happening in the Uchiha house. Everyone seemed to know as they stared at Itachi when he walked down the streets, the pity he saw in their eyes was maddening enough without the whispering they thought he couldn't hear.**

_**"Poor boy."**_

_**"What? Why?"**_

_**"Oh, haven't you heard? Everyone knows by now."**_

_**"Haven't heard what?"**_

_**"That the poor boy was sexually abused... twice. By his father's colleagues no less."**_

_**"What!? Really? That's terrible!"**_

_**"Yes, and no one knows who exactly the rapers were. And everyone's saying that they will go for Sasuke-kun next."**_

_**"No! Not Sasuke-kun, he's just a little kid!"**_

_**"Well, that's what attracts the bastards, don't you think?"**_

**It was comforting that the clan was on their side, yet discomforting that everyone knew about his disgrace. He spent more time around the town now. He refused to go on missions and the Hokage, knowing about his family problems as well, let him take some time off. At first he had spent as much of it as he could with Sasuke, who had been ecstatic at the prospect of spending time with his brother.**

**But then he began to notice things. Odd things, a brother shouldn't notice. The way Sasuke's face lit up when he smiled, the way the boy's mouth curled into a grin and the way his happy eyes glinted up at him. It made him feel... things a brother shouldn't feel and he was disgusted with himself, horrified at the chance of becoming his father. Sickened, ashamed and truly worried that one day he wouldn't be able to resist the temptation... just like his father. **

**Like everyone else, he had heard it. The rumor about the colleagues going for his otouto. And he was angry and he was scared. And he needed to stop it from happening, needed to help Sasuke, to protect him. Yet Itachi needed to stay away. To keep his distance, less he do something he would regret later on. He did not know where all of these forbidden thoughts and wishes came from. Maybe his father had corrupted him, ruined his mind by making him think it is not that wrong.**

**But it is wrong. Too wrong to happen. And Itachi needed to stop it. He needed everything to just... stop.**

**As the familiar numbness took hold of him, he knew what he had to do. And the last thing Itachi felt was pure love for his little brother.**

**-**

**-**

**Waking to find yourself lying in a cave, with your whole body throbbing is not a nice experience, was the first thing on Yuuko's mind after she awoke. Ketricken was healing Yuuko's bruises and for a second there was only silence. Only for a second though.**

**"What happened? Where did the Sound Four go?"**

**"It was Sound Five actually."**

**"Kimimaro was there too? How did we escape?"**

**"You mean, how did **_**I**_**escape and how did I manage to **_**drag**_** you with me?"**

**"You dragged me?"**

**"Missing the point."**

**"Never mind that, how did it go with Kimimaro?"**

**"...He let us go."**

**"What?"**

**"After, I had knocked the Sound Four unconscious, I prepared to attack him as well when he appeared out of nowhere. But he told me to run."**

**"...No way. He's like Orochimaru's perfect servant. No way, would he disobey him."**

**"Maybe, your father didn't give an order to capture us."**

**Her wounds now healed, she sat up gingerly as Ketricken turned to the fire, using a Fire Jutsu to make it bigger. "What do you mean?"**

**"I mean that maybe they found out by themselves. Or maybe Kabuto sent them, deciding to surprise his master. Kimimaro never liked Kabuto much."**

**"Oh... So... Um..."**

**The red-head sighed and turned away from the fire to face her, "Say what you want to say."**

**"Who exactly... did you summon? You never mentioned that you made a blood contract with an animal."**

**"That's because I didn't."**

**"...Huh?"**

**"I made a blood contract with an earth demon. And I managed to summon the high-level demon-lord yesterday. First time I managed it actually."**

**"...D-demon?"**

**"Yeah. He decided to beat me first however."**

**Yuuko choked on air, "**_**What!?"**_

**"Nothing, I can't handle. Plus he agreed to help me in the end. That's good, isn't it?"**

**"..I guess. I never knew you could do a contract with a demon. I never knew demons existed! Apart from the biju of course."**

**"Yeah, well. You'll get used to it."**

**She lay on her back again, noticing now how hard and uncomfortable the cave floor really was, "We're going to stay here for the night?"**

**"Where else should we go? The tree-house is out of the question. And no town is safe now that the Sound Four are after us."**

**"How about Sound?"**

**"Losing our sanity now?"**

**"No, I mean really. You mentioned having someone you know there **_**and**_** Orochimaru wouldn't think I was so stupid to hide right under his nose. Which makes this plan so perfect, by the way."**

**"That somehow sounds good yet utterly ridiculous. Fine. We'll go to my friend. And then we will lay low as much as possible. The Sound Four probably knew our whereabouts because of our partying at the town."**

**"Seems good to me. How long should we lay low though?"**

**"Until Orochimaru dies?"**

**Yuuko let out a wry laugh, before the seriousness of the matter caught up on her, "That could take years. Decades even."**

**"It might. And then again it might not. No one knows what the future brings."**

**"Corny."**

**"Thank you."**

**"...But, Ketricken?" **

**"Hm?"**

**They were now both laying on their sides, facing each other, the big fire separating them, "I would like to see some people. Just once. To see Konoha again. To see Kakashi and Sarutobi-sensei and..."**

**"And who?"**

**"Sasuke."**

**"You can't be serious."**

**Ketricken had sat up from surprise. "Yeah, I am. If I'm going to help him in the future, the least I could do is start to build some of that trust between us that is needed if I am to be his personal tutor."**

**"You never told me the details of the blood-oath scroll."**

**"You don't have to know. They're insignificant."**

**"...If you say so."**

**"So can we go?"**

**The red-head sighed as she lay down again, shifting slightly to locate the smooth spot she had found before. "I don't know, Yuuko. Konoha is quite far. We need to go to Sound as soon as possible. Plus, Ryu doesn't even know we're coming and I'm not sure if she'll welcome us with open arms."**

**"Well, then it's settled! I'll go to Konoha, while you go to Sound to make the arrangements."**

**Ketricken frowned, "Yuuko, that is too dangerous. If we go, we might as well go together."**

**"Please." Yuuko sent her friend a pleading look, "I need to do this. On my own. Give me two weeks."**

**Seeing the desperate look on the girl's face, Ketricken sighed and reluctantly agreed, "Fine. But only two weeks. If something happens, you're the one to blame."**

**-**

**-**

**The numbness never left him when he did what he had to do. It stayed with him, eating away at his feelings each time his blade pierced another Uchiha. Men, women, children - he lost count of them all. The only thing he could focus on was Sasuke. **_**His**_** Sasuke. And no one else's. **

**Killing his father turned out to be disappointingly easy. And as he turned to meet the terrified gaze of his mother,he smirked. The powerful Uchiha clan. Powerless against a thirteen-year-old. It was almost laughable. Her mother whimpered and wept, wailed and sobbed, begging him to stop.**

**"P-please! W-why are you d-doing this? Itachi? S-son?"**

**Right before he murdered the woman he had once loved dearly, he reminded her of his reason.**

**"I said, I would do **_**anything**_** to protect my otouto."**

**-**

**-**

She shot up, wheezing and coughing, feeling dizzy and ill. She quickly leaned over the side of her bed and puked on the floor. Her insides spasmed and in the end she gagged many times, heaving yet nothing coming up anymore. Tears ran down her cheeks and made her grunt in shame. She had promised herself, no more of being a cry-baby. Yuuko quickly wiped her mouth and cheeks clean with the bed-covers and sat up, grateful that she wasn't dizzy anymore.

"...Will you be able to continue training tomorrow?"

She looked at Itachi, who was standing in the doorway, watching her with his emotionless gaze. If the things he had shown her, were really true... "Yes. I'll do anything you ask of me. But just... can you do one thing for me?" She rubbed her sore neck and groaned softly, waiting for him to show some sign of agreement. He raised an eyebrow and she continued, "Next time, when you feel the urge to fill my mind with your memories... don't."

He nodded and left her alone. She moaned in pain when she lay down again, her body sore and aching. She really wished he hadn't done this. Because now she had lost the only thing keeping her sane in this place.

Her hate for him.

-

-

A/N:

Oh my god. XD The longest chapter yet! And I really need to know how you feel about this. Because this is quite an important chapter, don't you think ;D

Oh and I have now enabled anonymus reviewers. so if u dont have an account u can review now ;)

i didnt do this before, because i like to look over the profiles of the persons that review. but with this chapter i am so desperate for opinions and im so insecure about it that i need to know everyone's thoughts. everyone's that reads this i mean XD

so review and make me feel sure enough so i can write the next chapter XD

oh and this chapter was 5500+, quite neat aye?

Fuzzy


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12  
**

The two years and three months of training had changed Yuuko... permanently. Gone was every naive thought (not that she had much of those to begin with), every tear she had shed was now a mark of shame, every time she failed to hold her emotions in made her feel weak and useless. The Akatsuki members had changed her the most though. Yuuko had actually begun to understand these men and their lust for power. But there was always something that made her different. Maybe it was her compassion. Or perhaps her guilt. More likely it was both as compassion and guilt was looked down upon in this organization.

These two years and three months had been spent training... constantly training and in the end, her speed matched Itachi's, her strength matched Itachi's, her stamina and chakra had already been bigger than his but the only thing she lacked in was genjutsu, which was not important since she had the willpower and the mind to break out of any genjutsu. For the first time, Yuuko felt she was stronger than anyone else. For the first time she felt as if she was worth something.

Ketricken had been forgotten ever since Itachi had shown her his memories.

Yuuko felt powerful and she loved it.

-

-

She stared from a top of the hill, as Sasuke and three others she didn't recognize had a conversation. She had followed them to this hideout. Had witnessed the battle with the captives who had started a riot. This Sasuke fascinated her. He was cold, colder than before and so calm. His skills almost matched her own and his speed could rival Itachi's. All in all, he didn't need much help in her mind.

She grinned before jumping down from the hill, not making a sound, but suddenly releasing her chakra for the others to feel... and to fear.

_All he needs is a push in the right direction..._

The four were facing her now, the strangers were ready to battle, while Sasuke only stared at her with those dead eyes.

_Doesn't he recognize me? ...Well, I _have _changed._

Her hair had been cut to her shoulders and her bangs had grown longer and were framing her face, that now had a harsh beauty to it. Her eyes were still the same though, making her wonder if he was just not reacting to her sudden appearance.

She snickered at the shocked looks the others had. Her chakra was indeed... dreadful, almost suffocating. Yuuko spread her arms out and stared directly into the Uchiha's eyes.

"More than three years have passed and you won't greet me?"

For a moment there she figured he wouldn't answer. But then he stepped forward, until he was standing before the others, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Three years and no goodbye."

She scoffed playfully. Yuuko wouldn't admit this to the boy, but his voice was doing wonders to her insides. "If I had said goodbye, would it have made things easier? ...And don't tell me you actually missed me!?" She laughed mockingly, not missing the flash of emotion in his eyes.

The other girl stepped forward and grabbed Sasuke's arm, sending a death-glare at Yuuko, "Who the hell is she, Sasuke-kun!?"

Yuuko started hysterically laughing, "D-Don't tell me, you're having a fan-club meeting?"

She mentally gave herself a pat on the back when she saw the glimmer of amusement in his eyes. Apparantly the other girl noticed it too, and she gasped outrageously.

"Who are you and what are you doing here!?"

She stepped closer until she was only a few feet away from the pair. The boy with the spiky hair was staring at Yuuko in suspicion while the guy with the big sword was grinning.

Yuuko met the fan-girl's eyes and gave off the most menacing aura she could muster. She could see the girl trembling.

"I am Yuuko... And I'm here to congratulate Sasuke for killing my father."

-

-

Fuzzy: THIS IS SHORT FOR A REASON! I am writing the next chapter right now! But I put this up because.. it's like an interlude or something. The end is beginning my lovelies. The last part of this story is now starting! I figure there will be about 5 more chapters. Depending on how long they are xD

So keep your eyes open for the next one... because it's coming either today... or TOMORROW . And that one will be long, I promise you ;D


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Silence was heavy in the air as the three stared at Yuuko in surprise.

"What?" The girl pushed up her glasses and released Sasuke from her grasp as she stared at Yuuko in shock.

"What what? Didn't you hear me? I'm here to _congratulate_ Sasuke for killing my father. So if you'd be so kind enough to step aside..." She pushed the girl, using her chakra to make her fly away until she hit a cliff. Then she turned back to Sasuke and grabbed his hand, shaking it eagerly.

"Oh, brilliant! I heard that Orochimaru had _no_ chance! I was such a fool for ever doubting your skills... Wonderful, Sasuke! Just, wonderful!" Yuuko was grinning madly at him and finally released his hand. She watched in amusement as he flexed it a little before letting it fall limply to his side. "You're not the only one who has grown stronger."

"Hn."

For some reason, that familiar answer made her smile softly, liking the fact that even though Sasuke had grown... colder and more distant he still had the same characteristics. She looked him over once more and felt her mouth go dry just like it had when she first started to follow them. His body was now that of a young man's. Gone was the childish face and he was taller than her. His hair was still the same, but his form was leaner and more.. sexier, in lack of a better word.

"Suigetsu, get Karin."

"Why do I have to carry that bitch?"

One meaningful glance from Sasuke, and the guy with the big sword went to retrieve the limp body of the fan-girl. Yuuko turned to the third stranger.

"So, now I know their names. Any chance of knowing yours?" She grinned at him and watched as he frowned in thought.

"...Jugo."

She stepped closer to him and grabbed his hand, softly shaking it, "I'm Yuuko, as you probably heard. Orochimaru was my father and well.. as you probably guessed he wasn't exactly a family-man."

Yuuko chuckled sheepishly and released the unresponsive hand, not happy with the serious look on the guy's face.

"We're leaving."

"What!?" She turned to Sasuke in surprise. "No catching up, no nothing?"

He didn't even bother to look at her when he replied, "I don't have time for your nonsense."

Yuuko didn't know whether to be happy that the guy said more than three words or to be offended. "Okay... so where are you going?"

Sasuke broke in a run, the others following him, leaving her standing there like a dunce.

"You're seriously pissing me off, kid." She growled before rushing to catch up with them.

-

-

They had traveled in silence for the past twenty minutes. Yuuko was getting bored. She picked up in speed until she was a step or two ahead of Sasuke who was leading the others. She turned her back on the road ahead and continued to run backwards while starting a conversation with the Uchiha.

"So, _where_ are we going again?"

"Me, Sasuke-kun, Suigetsu and Jugo are going to the next hideout. We have no idea where _you're_ going."

Yuuko glared at Karin in dismay, having hoped that she could get the Uchiha to explain... meaning he had to actually _speak_.

"Well, it's obvious that I'm coming with you." And with that she turned around again, slowing down a notch so that she was running side by side with Sasuke as before. Which, she assumed, was why the fan-girl was so wired up.

"Why?"

Yuuko had to stop herself from stopping in shock, although she did stumble a little. The fact that Sasuke was interested in her affairs surprised her greatly. She gathered her thoughts together to give an honest answer.

"Why not? It's not like I have anything better to do. I must admit you're my only friend now... Well, my only friend that isn't in Konoha." She nibbled on her lower lip, frowning in thought. "Well, I guess I can't call you a friend... More like an acquaintance. So you're my only acquaintance that isn't in Konoha." Yuuko looked up for a moment, finding a flaw in that statement. "No. You're my only acquaintance that isn't in Konoha and that doesn't want me dead. Yeah. That's it."

She turned her head slightly to see them all staring at her, Suigetsu and Jugo bewildered while Karin was gaping. Sasuke of course showed no emotion, but the fact that he was paying attention to her was something indeed.

Then suddenly he disappeared in a flash and Yuuko felt a strong grip on her neck before she was lifted into air. Her mouth open, gasping for air as she clawed at the hand, she glared at the sharingan.

"What makes you so sure I don't want you dead?"

Yuuko managed a weak smirk before she gripped his arm, pressing her fingers into his skin. Sasuke's eyes widened when her fingers pierced his skin and started cutting through his muscles. He quickly released her neck and tried to hit her with his other hand, but she dodged and quickly jumped away from him, her fringers slipping out of his arm in the process.

She fell in a crouch, her rasping breaths loud in the silence coming from the others. Karin looked as if she would jump in any moment while the guys seemed a little impressed. Sasuke however was scrutinising his arm with interest.

Yuuko stood up and stuck up her nose, trying and failing to look down on him. "I know you Sasuke, you wouldn't kill someone unless it was necessary."

Sasuke's gaze returned to her. "How can you know me, when you spent only five days with me?"

She chuckled sheepishly, "I've heard rumors."

Yuuko had the urge to squeak when Sasuke appeared suddenly right in front of her, his face only inches from her own.

"What... rumors?"

Her eyes sweeped over his face, admiring his beauty in close-up as she whispered, "That you haven't killed anyone but Orochimaru. That you always leave survivors. You wound them. Make them incapable of fighting. But you don't take their lives. Why is that, Sasuke?"

He didn't answer though, his eyes intense enough to make her shiver. She licked her lips swiftly and noticed how Sasuke's attention was caught by that. His eyes were now glazed over with smoldering heat and Yuuko didn't even try to stop herself from shivering. Sasuke moved closer...

"SASUKE!? Aren't we in a hurry!?"

Yuuko's jaw clenched as her eyes twitched when Sasuke disappeared only to be seen running ahead. Karin grinned smugly at her, sticking up her middle finger before following the Uchiha. Suigetsu shrugged and left as well.

"Are you coming?"

Her eyes locked with Jugo's and she saw an understanding there. She smiled softly before nodding and they took off side by side, quickly catching up to the others.

-

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**FUZZY**: YES I KNOW I PROMISED A LONG CHAPTER. But you have no idea how much I have been bothered today. My parents dragged me away from my laptop to see my brother's grandparents , to go to the graveyard, to see my grandpa, to see my aunt and her son, to meet my father's step-mom, OH GOD. They stuffed me up like a turkey with all that food! So this is all I managed. AND I PROMISED AN UPDATE TODAY. And hell I thought better a short chapter than no chapter at all ;D

R&R please. I feel like no one's reading this anymore 


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Why, hello there. I bet you all, hoped I was gone forever. Well, no such luck! XD I'm back, big as life and twice as ugly

First, I'd like to thank _sasukez_, for being so awesome! She's the one that made me WANT to get into anime again. Alas, I haven't. But I _am _into Sasuke ... and Naruto. But I'll be faithful to Yuuko and will end her story before I finish the yaoi story I have started. So I hope, you guys are willing to reread this story. Unless you remember the plot. Which I doubt, since I haven't updated in like.. half a year oo. Next time, I'll warn you, if a hiatus is coming ;D

**IMPORTANT:** From now on, I'll be improvising. Manga will be ignored, because I haven't been keeping up at all XD So, I guess this is sort of AU/offcanon now.

**STILL IMPORTANT: **This is short for a reason. I just wanted to let you know, that I'm back in the game ;D I'll probably update weekly, now that school is ending and let's hope I can bring the chapters to my former length, which was 2,000-3,000+. I'd like that very much

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Chapter 16

It wasn't exactly pleasant. Taking a trip down "memory lane". She had followed Sasuke and his gang, the whole time being silent and polite, going out of her way to not annoy anyone and this is how the bastard repays her? By visiting her former home?

"Tell me again, _why_ are we here?" Yuuko asked, hoping that someone would answer as they entered one of the numerous abandoned secret hideouts that once belonged to his father. Unfortunately, the pest decided to try being witty.

"No one asked you to come!" Karin glared at her, and Yuuko sighed mockingly.

"I have perfectly good reasons..." Suigetsu and Karin looked at her expectantly, while the other two (she decided to name them 'the stoic pair') ignored her, eyes ahead as they walked in the maze of hallways. "...and they are for Sasuke's ears, only." Said ninja was leading the whole group and Yuuko couldn't help but wonder, if he truly knew where he was going. She was quite sure, they were walking in circles. But of course, her sense of direction had always been, well... _off_, so she could be utterly wrong.

The way, Sasuke's gazed at her from the corner of his eyes, satisfied her, because now she knew that he was interested. And that she wouldn't be left behind. She hoped.

Yuuko ran ahead of the group again, turning around so she was walking backwards, facing Sasuke. "So... can I help? I did live here, after all."

Suigetsu had a confused look on his face, "So _you_ are the girl, I heard about. The one, who was supposed to be Kabuto's and Orochimaru's greatest achievement?"

She shrugged sheepishly, "That's me." She sensed a wall coming behind her so she stopped in her tracks and was glad when Sasuke stopped next to her. She stared at his profile. "Seriously though, _can _I help?"

He was silent for a few seconds and just when she was about to sigh and try a conversation with the other half of the stoic pair, he opened his mouth and spoke. "I'm looking for the scrolls."

Yuuko frowned, forgetting to shout in glee that she had once again managed to make the Uchiha speak, concentrating on her memories of the conversations she had overheard and of the information she had later gained, "You're talking about the highly secret jutsuscrolls, _stolen_ by Orochimaru's lackeys?" She received a nod and she hummed in thought before choosing a direction and starting to head over to a room, she had once broken into. At least, Yuuko hoped she was heading there... as said before, her sense of direction was off. She needed to be right, though. To impress Sasuke, at least a little bit, so the brat... err, the young man wouldn't mind taking lessons from her.

She felt the group's eyes on her and bit her lip, nervous when she reached a familiar door. Which wasn't helpful, because every door there looked the same. Yuuko closed her eyes and prayed before opening the door. Afraid to look what was in there, she felt the others pass her and enter the room. When she heard no complaints, one of her eyes opened a bit as she squinted at the three figures, who were shuffling around a room... she definitely recognised. Yuuko turned her back to them and looked up, mouthing a 'thank you' to whomever that had helped her.

She followed them into the small archive, where, if Yuuko remembered correctly, Orochimaru kept his "stash". Illegal jutsus, unsafe jutsus... anything, you'd imagine Orochimaru doing, it was written on one of those scrolls. And Yuuko knew perfectly well, that one of those scrolls held the secret Sasuke needed to defeat Itachi. The Uchiha, however, wouldn't see it for himself. Not until Yuuko would get a chance to speak to him in private. Which seemed unlikely to happen anytime soon, thanks to the clingy Karin, who was really getting on her nerves.

"Sasuke-kun, I found one that might interest you!"

Yuuko observed as the pathetic kunoichi tried to get the attention of her crush. She was unsuccesful, of course, Sasuke only glancing at the scrolls and giving his infamous 'hn' as an answer. She got tired of seeing them bustling around and because she was anxious to get our of there, she decided to speak up.

"I know all of the jutsus in these scrolls, and trust me... you want to take _everything_."

Suigetsu stared at her for a second, why, Yuuko had no idea. Whatever he was looking for, he appeared to find it as he shrugged and grabbed one of the empty bags in the corner and started shoving scrolls in it. Jugo followed his lead, while Karin just glared at her for stealing her 'spotlight'. Or maybe for getting Sasuke's attention.

"You know all of them?"

The monotony of his voice, didn't hide the curiosity that was clear in the look he gave her. She grinned sheepishly and nodded.

"Hn."

And her hopes of having a conversation crashed as Sasuke turned away again. She sighed wearily and just waited for them to finish. Soon enough Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo had bags full of scrolls on their shoulders, while Yuuko and Sasuke walked free of any baggage. She found herself walking ahead with the Uchiha, and decided this was another opportunity to try and get Sasuke to talk to her.

"So, whacha been doing... besides training and killing Orochimaru?"

"Nothing."

Yuuko frowned at the short response and squinted her eyes, when they once more entered daylight. "Where are we going now?"

"An inn."

She sighed, giving up.

They traveled quickly and silently, just like before. They finally reached a town just before nightfall. A town, Yuuko had never been to, and they entered a local inn, Karin going up to the innkeeper's wife to ask for some rooms. The answer left Yuuko weary of what was to come.

"We only have two rooms available, a double-sized bed in each. I see there's five of you... one of the rooms has a couch as well. Is that acceptable?"

Karin nodded reluctantly and paid for them, accepting the keys and leading the group upstairs. They entered the first room and saw that this one had the small couch... which looked _very_ uncomfortable with it's dangerous-looking lumps. Yuuko was sure she saw some sprains sticking out of the cushions. She was _not _going to sleep there... no way in hell. She'd rather go back to Akatsuki and tell Itachi, she had failed her mission.

"Sasuke-kun, we need to form pairs that will share beds." This badly covered flirt was accompanied by rapid blinking and fidgeting. Yuuko imitated puking behind the younger girl and she noticed Suigetsu laughing silently at her antics. She smirked when Sasuke pointedly ignored the hint.

"Suigetsu will sleep next to me. Yuuko and Ka-"

"No way in hell am I sleeping with that thing!"

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow at her, and Yuuko had the decendy to look sorry for interrupting him. Karin, however was now twitching with supressed rage at being called 'a thing'.

"Fine, you'll take the couch then?" Karin forced a smile at Yuuko, who smirked when she replied.

"Naw, I think I'll share a bed with Jugo."

A short silence lasted as Karin gaped at her and Suigetsu grinned, knowing where this was going. Jugo was staring at Yuuko, with a confused expression on his face and she just winked at him, hoping he would play along.

"J-Jugo, you'd rather share with me, right!?"

The young man blinked at Karin before shaking his head as an answer and taking the other key out of her limp hand and exiting the room. Yuuko snickered victoriously at the other girl and waved mockingly, before following Jugo, her good night message shouted over her shoulder.

"Sweet dreams Sasu, Suigetsu! And Karin... I do hope you won't be _too_ sore in the morning."

Next chapter: (which will be longer.)

Jugo turns out to be a good listener, Sasuke reveales his simplistic plan and Yuuko's attempts at getting the Uchiha alone with her fail once more, thanks to the plotting of Karin. She gets desperate and tells Karin the truth about why she is in such a hurry. Things move forward and information is finally shared.

That could turn out to be the next TWO chapters. Depending on how long the conversations will be.

Once again. **Sorry for the extreme shortness. **I wrote this in about... an hour. XDD I just wanted to update, before you'd forget about me TT

**Let me know, if you're still following the story after all this time **


	16. Chapter 15

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-

Not a minute after she stepped into their room, a sharp pain in her stomach made her wince and move towards the bed. Yuuko gasped when suddenly it was accompanied by a soft pounding in her head. She groaned in annoyance before quickly sliding under the covers and pulling them up to her chin, curling up on the bed and willed the pain to fade.

"Are you alright?"

Her eyes snapped open and she tensed, before cursing herself and relaxing once more. For a moment there, she had forgotten that she wasn't alone in the room. Yuuko sighed and let her eyes close, "Yeah, fine. Just a stomachache... and a headache... and there will probably be some dizzy spells and nosebleeds. Other than that, I feel perfect." She guessed, Jugo understood the meaning behind her gruff, sarcastic, annoyed tone and shut up. Yuuko felt the bed dip behind her and looked over her shoulder to see the ninja laying still, eyes wide open and his bored stare directed at the ceiling.

The kunoichi felt her pain ease a bit and sighed, shifting around to copy the other's position, their shoulders touching.

"So, does this merry band have a name? Or are you called Sasuke and his pets, or some other name that glorifies Sasuke... and only Sasuke."

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, "Hebi."

Yuuko blinked dumbly, "That's all? Hebi? Isn't that a bit... um..."

"I like it. It's simple."

She bit her lip to stop smiling and patted the other's arm softly, "Good for you, big guy." Silence was his response and she sighed, moving on her side so she was more comfortable, when staring at Jugo.

"So, what is the purpose of this group... No, let me guess!" Yuuko pretended to think real hard, "Um, is it becoming the next Orochimaru? ...No, Sasuke hated the guy. How about destroying Konoha? ...Naw, I don't think he has the guts for that... Then, killing Itachi? But... that seems a bit pointless, when looking at the bigger picture."

"To kill Itachi."

She blinked dumbly, "Duh, I _knew_ that. I was just joking around." A blank stare was her response and she rolled her eyes, "Well, _sorry_. I've been hanging around Deidara too much... his crappy sense of humor has rubbed off on me."

"...Deidara?" Jugo sounded confused and curious.

Yuuko sat up and shouted, "Finally! Some kind of emotion!" She sighed in relief and slumped back on her side, "I was beginning to think you were a machine or something. Do you _ever_ smile? No? Not even a fake one?"

"..."

"I give up. Let's sleep."

-

-

_In the darkness of the night..._

"Will you move over! And stop pulling at the blanket, you're not getting it! God, do you have to be so big? Agh! You're squishing me, _DON'T ROLL OVER!_"

"..."

"Oh dear God. Are you _snoring_!?"

Yuuko would have happily slept on that lumpy couch... or even with Karin. She frowned, as the other settled down and started breathing deeply, but silently. Okay, maybe not with Karin.

-

-

_Her dead, mutilated body lay on the ground. She gasped at her friend's state and rushed over, kneeling next to her and grabbing the other's shoulders._

_"Ketricken! KETRICKEN, NO!"_

_"She wasn't strong enough."_

_She met her father's eyes, identical to her own and shook her head as tears fell on her lap. "No," she sobbed, "I'm the weak one."_

_A cold hand brushed her cheek and she whimpered at the fatherly act, before her chin was grabbed and she screamed and struggled, but found her hands tied. Yuuko blinked, and she was in the operation room again. Kabuto was speaking to her, trying to get her to focus, but it was just like before. It was as if she was deaf, everything on mute. The medic was frowning and shouting her name, she could read it from his lips. Yuuko tried to answer, but closed her eyes as bile rose to her throat and then she leaned over and threw up all over Kabuto._

_Only to find her sickness gone as her eyes opened and saw the face of her long lost friend. _

_"Ketricken!" She flung herself at her friend, grabbing at the body that breathed. "You're alive!"_

_She was pushed back and met with a sceptical stare, "Of course I am. Is this some kind of a nutty reaction to what I just told you?"_

_"What you told me?"_

_"Yes... about the chakrafluids... the effect it will have on us? What I heard from Kabuto? Anything ring a bell?"_

_Yuuko frowned. What was going on, it was as if she was flipping through memories... except when Orochimaru had spoken to her. Was this a dream? But it feels so real._

_"Uh... yeah. Sorry about that."_

_Ketricken stood up and went to take a water bottle out of the bag in the corner, before throwing it at Yuuko who caught it in reflex. "You feeling okay? You seem... sick."_

_"Sick?" She sighed as the cool water entered her mouth._

_"Yeah, like you're going to throw up any minute now. And I think, there's vomit in your hair."_

_"What?"_

_Yuuko's hand went limp and the open bottle hit the floor, as she noticed the stinky substance in her black strands. She looked up in horror, only to find herself in her room at the Akatsuki compound. _

_"You really don't know anything."_

_Itachi._

_"You will be my greatest creation."_

_Orochimaru._

_"The things they said, I'd rather kill myself than go through with it."_

_Ketricken._

_"You're just a thing to him."_

_Kabuto._

_"Do you understand now?"_

_"You are a disappointment."_

_"They spoke of pain, something I do not look forward to."_

_"You're worthless."_

_She wanted to get away from this. She wanted Ketricken back. She wanted to have a life._

_"We can't have a normal life, not like this, knowing what is going to happen, having to wait for it."_

_"Sasuke deserves to know!"_

_"I hereby give my will to Uchiha Itachi, agreeing to his commands and the time limit, for my actions. I pledge to be faithful to my master and to listen to him and no one else."_

_"Train Sasuke."_

_"Is that why you killed your parents?"_

_"I want him to stop me."_

_"We're going to die."_

_"Help him kill me."_

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A/N: I don't have enough inspiration for this story anymore. I don't like the SasukeOC pairing anymore. I don't want to write this fic anymore.

...

But I'm a lover, not an abandoner, so I wont abandon this or any other story I start. I will finish, just don't expect long/frequent updates.

I'm doing the best, I can.

TT


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N**

_...I had to force myself to write this story sigh I just want this to end xD Why the hell did I make up such a mess of a plot -.- It's not complicated, but it's a pain in the ass to unravel ¬.¬_

_I also found out that Karin has red hair? ...I think I've described her as a brunette. Oh well. Can you blame me, though? I haven't seen Shippuden and I haven't seen the coloured pages of the manga/cover. So... I assumed she was a brunette xD To avoid confusion, I'm not going to mention her haircolor smart, isn't she_

_..._

_gets bricked_

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-

Her ragged breathing made her heave and pant as she shook his head, trying to clear it. Yuuko blinked her eyes open, finally sensing the person next to her and that he was holding her up with his arm. She tried to blink away the tears, so she could see Jugo, but dizziness made her flop down on her back, clenching her eyes shut as she wrapped her arms around her head, hiding her tear-stained cheeks from the man.

"Fuck, that was quite a shocker." She hadn't had any dreams about her screwed up childhood for some time now, which was one of the things she was actually grateful for. Yet it seemed that no matter what she did, the past always came to haunt her.

"Are you alright?"

Her eyes opened a bit to meet the worried gaze of Jugo and she smirked, "You're quite the villain. A person, you met yesterday and whom you've heard stories about has a nightmare and you turn into a mother-hen. Quite the villain, indeed."

The stoic stare was back in place and Yuuko closed her eyes in amusement. "It's all right, I won't tell anyone."

"What did you dream about? You were screaming and trashing around. Woke me up."

If she didn't know any better, she would have described his tone as 'grumpy'. "The usual, sadistic father, sadistic father's right hand, long dead friend... Itachi. Basically, everyone who had an impact on my miserable life. Heh, I'm starting to sound pathetic."

"I've seen older and wiser people crack under less terrifying predicaments."

"Oh, have you?" Yuuko sat up in interest, "How?"

"You're not the only one who has heard and _seen_ what you weren't supposed to."

"Ah," she nodded, understanding exactly what he meant, "They weren't exactly secretive, were they? Kabuto and Orochimaru... or maybe they underestimated our intelligence."

"Probably thought we didn't have any."

Yuuko grinned, leaning comfortably against the headboard, her shoulder brushing against the man whenever she shifted a bit. She had forgotten what it felt like to just chat with someone about her father, with someone who had been in the same situation as her. It was almost like having Ketricken back in her life, only in a much more quiet, stoic, insane, masculine form. Oh, Yuuko had not forgotten the stories _she_ had heard about _Jugo_. Or about Karin and Suigetsu. She knew all about their insane ways and their villainous personalities. But the reason, she felt comfortable around them, was because they were just as devious as her, not to mention the fact that she felt confident in her abilities and knew that she could take them on any time they'd ask for it.

"What did Orochimaru do to you? I _have_ heard the stories, but I know firsthand that rumors are mostly untrue."

She scratched her arm uncomfortably, "Well, what do people say about me?"

"That he made you powerful enough to murder all the Kages. That he trained you in the art of Poison so you could take them all down for him."

She couldn't help herself, she laughed. And laughed, until she saw the blank stare sent her way and her mad laughter stopped suddenly, "You can't be serious." The stare only deepened and she gasped, "You are?" A few more giggles escaped her, before she could finally calm down. "Wow. To murder all the Kages, huh?"

She shook her head, grinning, "No such thing. He just wanted me as an assassin of sorts, a secret weapon. Maybe he had intended for me to clear the way for him, who knows. But never, and I mean not once, did he tell me anything about the art of Poison. Seriously. _He _was good at it, though."

"The truth, then?"

Yuuko sighed, "He just made me powerful. More poweful than him, more powerful than anyone. But there are... side-effects." She felt the skin on her cheek burn and rolled her eyes at the intense, _questioning_ glare Jugo was staring at her with. She was like a magnet for people, who enjoyed being silent. "Basically, I'm dying. The fluids Kabuto injected into my body, they are not meant for a human. So I'm dying... slowly... from the inside. And from what I've heard, taking my final breath will be torture. Sounds incredibly fun, doesn't it?"

She grinned at the man, but when her gaze met his eyes, that were full of _pity_, she clenched her eyes shut and banged her head against the wooden surface behind her.

"God, I really am pathetic."

-

-

"I'm going to get some supplies, anyone need anything?"

"Ah, yeah. I'd like some sa-"

"Sasuke-kun, you need anything?"

Yuuko rolled her eyes at the girl's ever so obvious obsession. And she tried to hide it? ...Was she even a kunoichi?

"No."

Her eyebrow quirked up at the absentminded, far away-sounding response and then pursed her lips to keep from laughing at Karin's embarrassed look.

"Fine, I'll just go then."

"Uh, Karin?"

The stoic pair, who were engrossed in the scrolls they had found at Orochimaru's hideout, suddenly glanced up at the two girls, while Suigetsu just grinned lazily from his position on the windowsill.

"Yes?" The forced politeful tone and the grimace, that was supposed to be a smile did nothing to hide the distaste clear in the other's eyes. Yuuko whistled under her breath, thinking that this was the first time, she was on the receiving end of such loathing.

"I was wondering, if I could come with you?"

Karin blinked.

"What?"

"You know, us girls need to hang out more. Come on, let's go shopping!"

The kunoichi screeched in surprise as Yuuko grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the inn. The boys could still hear Karin's shouting, even after they had entered the bustling streets.

"No, let go of me, you maniac! I don't even know you! We're not friends! _UGH, GET YOUR HAND OFF ME!_"

It was a good thing that Suigetsu was busy grinning his ass of, or otherwise he would have noticed the slight quirk of Sasuke's lips and he would have bugged the Uchiha about it and would probably have gotten himself killed. Jugo did notice, however.

And he was starting to understand.

-

-

She licked her lips, eyeing the delicious fruit. "Can we have strawberries? Please?"

"Fine!"

"Ooh! How about bananas? They're good for you and they give energy!"

"Fine!"

"Oh. My. God. PEACHES!"

"Jesus, will you stop trying to make me go bankrupt! We can't buy peaches, or I won't have any more money!"

Yuuko stared at the furious kunoichi and shrugged, rolling her eyes, "What crawled up your ass and died?" She huffed dramatically and stepped back, gesturing for Karin to buy what she wanted. The other girl grimaced in anger, before gathering up the strawberries, the bananas and to Yuuko's greatest amusement - the peaches.

"Sasuke likes them." Was the girl's explanation and Yuuko just held up her hands, "Your money, not my business."

Karin grabbed the bags and headed back towards the inn, but stopped abrubtly making Yuuko wave her arms in the air and to stand on her toes as to not crash into the other girl. The kunoichi turned around in a huff and glared.

"Why did you come with me?"

"Huh?"

"What is it, that you want to tell me?"

"Oh." She smiled, "I was beginning to fear the rumours of how intelligent you were, were all farce."

"Spill it out, we ain't got time to waste."

"Oh well, it's kind of. Serious stuff... so maybe, we could move away from the streets... and the audience?"

Karin started as she finally noticed all the eyes on them and the way the crowd parted for them, fearing the loud girls.

"In the alley, now!"

"Sheesh, bossy much?"

-

-

Silence is always heavy, especially with an annoying kunoichi staring at you sceptically.

"So... you're dying?"

"Yes."

"And you need time alone with Sasuke, before you die?"

"Yes, it's very important that I have said time alone with said Uchiha, before I die in the most painful way possible."

"..."

If there was a desk near her, Yuuko would have banged her head on it. "You don't believe me!?"

"Why should I?"

"How about for once thinking about someone else other than yourself!"

"Why should I think about you, I don't even like you!"

"I'm not talking about me, I'm talking about Sasuke."

...Well, that sure shut her up.

"This will help Sasuke achieve his goals, so. Will you help me... help Sasuke?"

Karin looked pissed off, but nodded sharply, "Fine." She turned around and briskly walked out of the alleyway, Yuuko following her wearily. She suddenly flipped around and Yuuko thanked her good sense, that she had followed the girl cautiously this time, "But you _are_ going to die, right? Soon?"

She bared her teeth, outraged, "_YES_!"

The kunoichi grinned, "Oh good."

For the first time Yuuko _wanted_ to commit murder.

-

-

A/N

This is supposed to be a serious fic, but all I can think up is crack ¬.¬ Is it funny enough to be considered Humor? Because I'm thinking of changing the genres for this fic.

Review if you want me to finish the story.

Or I'm gonna think, why bother XD


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